


Ocean Drive

by fvllsuns



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beach, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempt at Humor, Childhood Friends, Crack, Cuddling, Denial of Feelings, Dont ask why, Drinking, Drugs, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Kissing, Lots of it, M/M, Making Out, Markhyuck centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roommates, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Smoking, Summer, Summer Love, Swearing, Underage Drinking, also johnten, but hes not like an addict hes just wild, chenle summons satan, jeno & mark have juuls, luren is the primary side ship, new members are included but they dont show up for a while, only for markhyuck everyone else develops fast, ten lives with dreamies, this gets very fuckin wild, working title/summary, yukhei does drugs, yukhei squares up with the hamburgler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-05 19:16:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17330807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fvllsuns/pseuds/fvllsuns
Summary: From independent living, to beach trips, to satanic rituals, twenty one boys enjoy a summer they will never forget.orFive (+1) boys move in to a new apartment the summer before college. Childhood best friends Donghyuck & Mark learn together what it means to grow up  & to f̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶ while dealing with nineteen chaotic friends & their antics.





	1. & so it begins

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic in a super long time! It's slow at the beginning but it'll pick up after the intros are done. Buckle up cowboys this is going to be a wild ride.

Summer was always Donghyuck’s favorite season. Not only because he was a summer baby, but because that meant he had a break from school. That meant he got to spend even more time with his friends, as annoying as they can be. More importantly, he got to spend time with his best friend, Mark. Donghyuck just finished his senior year in high school & was now about to start at SMU, the same college that his friends go to. Because of his entrance exams & stressful workload, he never had the time to see Mark. Mark had his own busy schedule, seeing how he was already in college & on the basketball team at his school.

 

To say the least, he was excited about summer. Him & his friends agreed to share an apartment together near their university. They had already gotten the apartment, & are going to start moving in tomorrow. Currently, Donghyuck was laying on his bed, bored to all hell. Without more than 2 seconds to think about it, he got dressed and headed out. Mark & Donghyuck lived just down the street from each other. He still remembers when Mark first moved to Korea from Canada.

 

☼

 

_Donghyuck was only 10 when he met the most important person in his life to this day. He didn’t know it then, but when a certain someone knocked on his door, his life was about to change forever. He watched as his mom opened the door and saw a woman & a boy, who seemed roughly around his age. He was extremely pale, unlike Donghyuck, whose skin was a golden bronze. _

 

_“Hi! We just moved here from Canada and we’re living down the street from you. I brought you some sweets as a welcoming gift. It’s so nice to meet you!” the woman greeted. Donghyuck’s mother looked just as excited as their new neighbor. “Oh, & this is my son, Mark. Say hello to our new neighbors sweetie.” _

 

_The boy looked up & smiled. “Hello. I’m Mark. My korean name is Minhyung, but I like going by Mark.” _

 

_“Aren’t you adorable!” Donghyuck’s mother cooed. “Sweetie, come say hello.” she motions for Donghyuck to come to where they were standing at the door. “This is my son, Donghyuck.”_

 

_“Mom! I can introduce myself.” he pouted, his face turning a light shade of pink._

 

_“He’s a little feisty, don’t mind him.” she laughed & pinched his cheeks. _

 

_“Hi. I’m Donghyuck. Nice to meet you!”_

 

_The two turned to look directly at each other & stared in confusion, trying to make an impression of the other. They both smiled at each other almost in synch. _

 

_“Come inside! Would you like some coffee?” she says, grabbing her hand. She nods enthusiastically as she followers her inside._

 

_Mark & Donghyuck stare directly at each other again for a quick moment before Donghyuck grabs Mark’s hand & drags him inside. Mark is shocked, to be honest. He wasn’t quite used to skinship, or being so physical within minutes of meeting someone. He surprisingly didin’t mind it. The other boy’s hand was quite soft, and slightly smaller than his own. Their hands fit together almost like a puzzle piece. _

 

_Donghyuck sat onto the couch, dragging mark down with him. “So, how old are you?”_

 

_“I’m 11, you?”_

 

_“So you’re older. Awe, that’s too bad. I’m 10.” he sounded slightly disappointed. Mark chuckled, & Donghyuck thought it was quite possibly the sweetest sound he had ever heard. If we was being fully honest, he thought Mark was really cute. _

 

_“You don’t have to call me hyung, I guess. I don’t really understand how the whole age tier works, so it’s probably easier.”_

 

_“Okay Mark. Starting today we’re gonna be best friends & you cannot convince me otherwise!” Donghyuck grabbed Mark’s hands & gave him a bright smile, one that Mark considered to be blindingly beautiful. _

 

☼

 

Donghyuck walked with his hands if his pocket, headphones in his ears. He loved going on walks in the summer, despite the heat. Everything looked so beautiful & he couldn’t help but smile. The breeze hit him ever so slightly, dancing on his skin. He looked up at the sky & noticed how there were no clouds in sight. He took a moment to appreciate the way the sun kissed his skin so gently. Once he arrived at Mark’s house, he let himself in like he always did.

 

“Hi Donghyuck sweetie! Here to see Mark?” Mark’s mom smiled at him, coffee in her hand.

 

“I’m here to see you. Mark’s kinda lame.” he walked over to her & gave her a kiss on the cheek. His mom always adored him, & would always treat him like her own son.

 

“I’ll take you out to dinner one day, just let me know when you are free. Don’t tell mark. It’s our little secret.” She reached out her pinky which Donghyuck returned with his own. They laughed together, knowing their secret date would make Mark upset. “Go on upstairs. Mark is still asleep.”

 

Donghyuck walked up the stairs & opened the door slowly, trying not to wake Mark. He suddenly had a plan to wake Mark up, & followed through with it by jumping on top of Mark & putting his entire body weight onto him. Mark groaned & opened his eyes slowly, knowing damn well who it was assaulting him so early in the morning.

 

“What are you doing here?” His voice was deep & scratchy, something Donghyuck loved about being around sleepy Mark. Truthfully, he thought the elder looked extremely hot in the morning. Even with bedhead & a puffy face, Mark looked handsome.

 

“Awe, not excited to see me? Too bad, I’m here to annoy you.” Donghyuck snuggled closer to him & rested his head in the crook of his neck.

 

“You can stay, as long as you let me go back to sleep.” He grinned at him, his face dangerously close to the other’s.

 

“Fine by me.” he kicked off his shoes & shifted so that he could lay under the covers. Mark wrapped an arm around his waist & rested his head against Donghyuck’s. Donghyuck finally registered the fact that Mark was indeed, shirtless.

 

“Markus! Being half-naked in front of your angelic best friend? Scandalous.” He slapped his chest & winked at him.

 

Mark blushed slightly, but it went unnoticed by the other. “To be fair, I wasn’t expecting you to show up at my house at ass crack in the morning.”

 

“It’s 10 am.”

 

“Like I said, ass crack in the morning.” Donghyuck rolled his eyes & chuckled, leaning back down to lay on his chest again. “Go to sleep, nerd.” & with that they fell asleep, holding each other close.

 

(Mark’s mom may or may not have walked in on the scene & took a picture to embarrass the two in the future)

 

☾

 

“Mark! Did you finish packing up your belongings? Don’t forget that you’re moving out tomorrow.” Mark’s mom called from downstairs.

 

“Not yet. I’m almost done though.” He yelled back. Mark was sat on his bed, sitting back against the wall. Donghyuck was laying in his head on his lap, browsing jobs. He _really_ needed to get a job. He felt bad for having his mom pay for both university and his rent, so he wanted to do all he could to help out.

 

“Looking for jobs?” Mark saw Donghyuck’s endless browsing.

 

“Mhm.”

 

“Why don’t you apply for sephora or something. I know you love makeup & you’re great at it so. Plus there’s one just down the street from our new place.” He shrugged & went back to scrolling through instagram.

 

“Mark you’re a genius! Why didn’t I think about that before?!” He sat up & threw Mark’s phone out of his hands to hold them. He quickly kissed his cheek & laid back down, ready to look for an application. Mark couldn’t hold back the blush creeping on his face. He was thankful that Donghyuck was preoccupied with his searching that he didn’t see it.

 

“Hey Mark?”

 

“Hey Hyuck.”

 

“Do you think things will be different? I mean living away from home is gonna be scary. We’re gonna have to actually cook for ourselves & pay rent.” Donghyuck placed his phone down to look up at Mark. Mark saw the doubt in his eyes. He smiled & touched his cheek, Donghyuck curling into the touch.

 

“It’s gonna be just fine. Things will probably be the same, we’ll just have more responsibilities. Don’t worry. Plus, I’ll be right here by your side. Always.” He gave a soft, reassuring smile. He always knew exactly how to make the younger feel better.

 

☼

 

It finally arrived, moving day. The boys all reached their new place together, courtesy of Ten, who picked them all up.

 

“Alright kids, before we do anything else. Let’s decide rooms. There’s only three rooms, so you’re gonna have to share.” Ten dropped his bags & sat on the couch. The rest followed him & sat beside him.

 

“Does that mean you get your own room.” Renjun said, questioning Ten’s previous statement.

 

“Of course it does. I don’t trust any of you. For all I know, you could poison me in my sleep, or worse, wake me up before 8 am.”

 

“I call rooming with Mark!” Donghyuck gave them all a shit eating grin, knowing none of them could talk him out of it.

 

“So then me, Jeno, & Renjun have to share a room together? This is homophobic!” Jaemin stood up, obviously hurt. Renjun sighed exaggeratingly loud.

 

“I don’t really mind. We have bunk beds. I think that’s pretty fuckin’ sick.” Jeno said nonchalantly.

 

“You already have bunk beds? You already made the rooming arrangements, didn’t you Ten hyung?” Renjun scoffed at the elder. The absolute nerve.

 

“Yup. Don’t act like you didn’t expect this. Mark & Donghyuck are the lead love interests, & you three are the gay supporting characters.”

 

“W-what?” Mark choked, embarrassed to all hell. _Love interests. Doesn’t sound too bad to me._ Donghyuck gave him a questioning look, but decided not to comment.

 

“Then it’s settled. Go unpack your bags. I’ll start fixing dinner in the meantime.” Ten stood up & went to place their groceries into the fridge.

 

Mark & Donghyuck entered their room, looking around in awe.

 

“Wait… there’s only one bed in here.” Donghyuck stood frozen in place.

 

“I mean… I don’t mind… do you?” Mark rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“Not at all. Maybe it’ll be fun. I can annoy you whenever I want!” He stuck his tongue out at Mark, who’s face began to lose the little color he had.

 

“Doesn’t sound fun for me.”

 

They all finished unpacking their belongings & sat on the couch in their living room, watching tv. Jaemin had put on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, to which everyone protested against.

 

“None of you are cultured. This show is amazing, look how ridiculous all the drama is. Kris even slipped a viagra pill into Bruce’s coffee which Rob accidentally drank. He ended up in the hospital for 3 days cause his boner wouldn’t go down.”

 

“That doesn’t sound entertaining to me.” Renjun rolled his eyes.

 

“You just have no taste.” He hissed. Jaemin crossed his arms & laid back onto the couch, disappointment showing.

 

They sat in silence until they heard the door bust open, screaming men following.

 

“WHAT’S GOOD PLAYERS?!” Yukhei swung open the door so hard they’re sure it left a dent in the wall. He didn’t seem to notice (or at least care) and proceeded to jump onto the table, immediately fall off & straight onto his face. Ten stood in horror & opened his mouth to say something until he was cut off.

 

“Hey fuck faces! We’re here for your house warming party!” Yuta shouted, piercing all of their ears. “Aaaaaand I brought vodka!”

 

“Under no circumstances are you going to give alcohol to my kids.” Taeyong glared at him as if he was shooting lasers out of his eyes.

 

“Booo. You’re no fun.” Yuta rolled his eyes & sulkingly sat the bottle down on the table. Ten quickly snatched it away & ran to his room to hide it. When he came back, he went back to cooking, nearly forgetting that he was in the middle of making sure his roommates didn’t starve to death. The entire crowd stared him down, waiting for answers. He turned slowly, feeling the gaze on him.

 

“What?” Ten tried to plead innocence.

 

“Are you gonna explain yourself?” Jaehyun finally spoke up.

 

“The kids don’t need alcohol. Plus, it’s my happy juice. Sweet nectar from the gods. I deserve it for the shit I’m about to go through living with these demonic children.” He said, turning back to continue with his cooking. The five intruders just squinted at him & decided to drop it.

 

Jaehyun, Yukhei, Doyoung & Yuta sat themselves down at the kitchen table. Johnny made his way over to Ten & wrapped his arms around his waist, leaving light kisses on the side of his neck. Ten gave a shy smile, grabbing the arms that were resting on his waist.

 

“No homosexual activity in my kitchen.” Donghyuck groaned at the sudden PDA. They were so in love it was disgusting.

 

“You mean in MY kitchen? May I remind you that I am the chef here & if any of you idiots touch anything in my kitchen I will, mark my worms, kill you.” He grabbed a giant knife & pointed at the boys seated on the couch.

 

“My- Your what now?” Mark sat with confusion written on his face. He got completely ignored.

 

“Anyways, I should be saying that to you & Mark. Get a room.”

 

The two boys looked at each other & blushed. It was only now that everyone had realized that Donghyuck was sat in Mark’s lap, Mark’s arms wrapped around his waist. Donghyuck moved off of him at the sudden attention everyone was giving them. “First of all, we have a room.”

 

“I never should have let that happen.” Ten mumbled.

 

“Second of all, we’re not together so it’s not homosexual activities.” Donghyuck hissed back. Mark froze & looked down, slightly disappointed. He liked the thought of dating Donghyuck. He thought about it for years. He just never knew what to do. He didn’t want their relationship to change if things didn’t work out. He’s so used to be with the other that we wouldn’t know what life would be like without him in this life. Thank god Donghyuck wasn’t looking back at him. Because he knows Donghyuck could read right through him.

 

The 11 of them sat around, sharing stories about the recent events in their lives. Johnny explained his recent wedding he got to photograph. Yuta talked about how he got promoted to manager at the Starbucks he had been working at for several years. Taeyong & Ten got immersed in discussing what song they would use for their next dance class. The two co-owned a dance studio not too far from their apartments. They taught various ages of dancers, all of which are extremely talented. Their studio is difficult to join, after all.

 

“Dinner’s ready!” Ten placed the food onto the table. They all gathered around, staring at the food like predators waiting for their prey. The five other owners of the apartment knocked the five guests out of their chairs, knowing damn well Ten only cooked for his roommates. “You five, don’t you dare touch that food. You have your own food at home & I only had enough ingredients for the actual RESIDENTS of his sacred household.” The men groaned & sulked on the couch, watching the boys grab their food.

 

Jeno grabbed a hefty amount of meat & Ten slapped his hand away from grabbing more. “Don’t be greedy, you little shit.”

 

“Hey, I’m a growing boy. I need my protein.” Jeno protested. Ten reached out to grab some of the meat off of his plate, only to get pushed away by the younger.

 

“Don’t get an attitude with me, young man. I am your mother.” Ten looked like he was about to jump across the table & choke him out.

 

“That doesn’t even make sense. You’re a man. You couldn’t have given birth to any of us.” Renjun mumbled, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

 

“He got that bussy though!” Johnny yelled, snickering at his own remark. The five boys stared back, completely blank.

 

“What is a ‘bussy’?” Jeno whispered to Jaemin. “Dunno. Sounds like a disease.” He whispered back.

 

Johnny opened his mouth to speak & Taeyong slapped his hand across Johnny’s mouth. “Don’t you dare tell the children.” Johnny flinched at the sharpness of his words. He waited until Taeyong turned away to whisper-yell across the room to Jaemin & Jeno who had been staring him down, “Boy pussy~” The two froze, mortified.

 

“No traumatizing the kids at the dinner table. Save that for when they are not surrounded by safety hazards.”  Ten pointed his chopsticks in Johnny’s direction. The elder immediately stopped laughing & sat in silence.

 

After dinner, they all crowded around the few couches they had in their living room. Due to the lack of space, they resorted to lapping up. Ten had instantly jumped onto Johnny’s lap, Taeyong of course sat on Jaehyun’s lap, & Donghyuck took his spot on Mark’s lap again, purposefully trying to crush him with his body weight. Doyoung ended up the floor due to Renjun giving him the death glare when he tried to sit down next to him. Yukhei flopped down next to Renjun & gave him a quick smirk. Renjun turned his head quickly away from him. Jeno looked around for a spot & seemingly didn’t find one & sighed in defeat. He was about to sit onto the floor next to Doyoung when Jaemin quickly grabbed him & made him fall into his lap. Ten pushed Jeno off right as he had fallen into Jaemin’s lap.

 

“Absolutely not. You two don’t deserve the right to lap up.” Ten gave them a sharp look, hoping to scare them. It worked. “Only couples are allowed to do that in this house.”

 

“Then why do those two deserve rights?” He rolled his eyes & pointed at Mark & Donghyuck, who were somewhat lost in their own world.

 

“They’re a couple they just haven’t figured it out yet.” He looked over at the two sitting in their own chair, who were now blushing madly. He gave a quick wink & watched as the two tensed up.

 

Yuta, who was sitting on the arm of the couch, dramatically fell on top of the row of couples (+Jaemin). They groaned, feeling the unnecessary weight crush them. “Oh what will I do, being surrounded by couples & not a man in my life.”

 

“You literally flirt with anything that breathes. It shouldn’t be that hard.” Doyoung scoffed. Truth be told, none of them really knew much about Yuta’s love life. They could never keep up with who he was dating or who he was messing around with. They figured it was easier not to get involved.

 

“I’m bored.” Renjun mumbled.

 

“Then let’s do something. Anyone have any good ideas?” Taeyong sat up & looked around.

 

“I have more vodka~!” Yuta pulled out a bottle from behind his back.

 

“Where the fuck did that come from?” Ten blinked, searching for some explanation. None of them bothered to question it.

 

“Don’t ask questions. Just accept it. Vodka makes everything more fun.” He gave a shit-eating grin & shook the bottle, bring it towards Ten’s face.

 

“No drinking. I don’t want to see these kids drunk. I’m afraid they’re gonna destroy the place before we can finish packing.” Ten shot down any chance of alcohol being consumed—probably for the better.

 

“You’re no fun.” Jaemin rolled his eyes & Ten responded by raising his first, causing Jaemin to flinch. Ten may be small, but his punches were no joke.

 

Just when they all thought the night couldn’t get any worse, the door swung open, two boys following. “WHAT’S GOOD GAMERS?” Chenle yelled at an ear-piercing volume level. They all whipped their heads at the sudden interruption.

 

“Not today… not today.” Ten sighed, hitting his forehead so hard it echoed throughout the room. “How the fuck did you two get in anyways? I made sure the door was locked.”

 

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.” Chenle sat down onto the arm rest next to Renjun, receiving a scowl from the elder. He swung around a key that could only be one to the apartment.

 

“Alright, which one of you dick twitches gave the demon a key? I swear to sweet baby jesus if you invite yourself in one more time I am not afraid to throw rocks at your giant fucking head.” Ten launched himself at Chenle, strangling him.

 

“Please don’t commit homicide on your first day in this house. None of us are going to help you dispose of his body.” Taeyong got up & broke Ten’s grip on Chenle’s neck.

 

“I’m officially ready for this day to end. All of you get out. It’s past your bedtimes.” Ten pointed to door, a sigh of defeat escaping his mouth. “Except you Johnny. You are staying here & I will not accept any answer other than ‘yes babe’”.

 

“It’s 9 pm.” Doyoung gave Ten a questioning look.

 

“& I’m tired. Tired of seeing all of you. Everyone out.” Ten got up and dragged Johnny to his room, leaving everyone else behind. They sat in silence, the only sound being Ten’s door being slammed shut. Jisung finally spoke up, “So, does that mean we’re not having a sleepover?”

 

“I don’t want to die yet. Anyways, I’m going to go finish packing. If you all are still here in the next two minutes I’m gonna tell Ten.” The guests visibly froze in their places. Jaemin & Jeno followed Renjun into their shared room, leaving the rest to sit in silence. “So are you guys gonna get out or are you going to take your chances?” Donghyuck raised his eyebrows at the others. They all groaned & got up to leave. Chenle & Jisung sat, unmoving. “You too.” Jisung sighed & pulled Chenle up, dragging him out the door. Mark & Donghyuck were now alone, neither of them wanting to move. Mark tried to push the younger off but he responded by pressing his back up against Mark until he gave up.

 

“Come on, we gotta finish unpacking or it’ll never get done.” Mark’s voice came out muffled seeing as Donghyuck’s back was covering his face. Donghyuck shifted his body so that he was facing Mark & rested his head into the crook of Mark’s neck. “Can we stay like this a little longer?” His breath hit Mark’s neck sending chills down his spine. Mark responding by wrapping his arms lazily around his waist. They were always like this, enjoying the feeling of each other’s warmth. Mark was never really one for skinship, but his best friend was an exception. He loved the way Donghyuck would cling to him, no matter how many times he tried to deny it. It just felt right. They stayed like this for all of 30 minutes before Mark decided it was probably time for them to get up.

 

“Donghyuck-ah~” He shook him a little & received no response. He turned to at the younger & noticed he was fast asleep. He tightened his grip on the boy that was sleeping in his arms & carried him to their shared room. He gently dropped him onto the bed & pulled away only to feel the grip on his neck tighten. “Hyuck..?”

  
“Stay here.. Please.” He murmured. He couldn’t say no to him when he looked like _that—_ Eyes half open & lips in a soft pout. He hummed & layed down onto the boy, loosely wrapping his arms around his waist again. The other responded by wrapping his legs around his hips. Once he heard Donghyuck’s light snores & breath hit the side of his neck, he placed a soft kiss on his forehead & found himself slowly drifting to sleep. “Goodnight, Hyuckie.”


	2. can we just stay like this?

When Donghyuck woke up the next morning he was only greeted by cold air & an empty bed. He slowly opened his eyes and turned over to look at the sun that was shining in his direction. _Today is the beginning of the rest of my life_ he thought to himself. Something about self affirmations helped him get through his days, & with knowing he was going to have to start being much more responsible, he was going to need it. All of a sudden a loud bang broke him away from his peaceful thoughts. He laid onto his back & sighed, trying to close his eyes & fall back asleep. To his luck, two men shouting from behind the door rudely woke him back up. He swung his legs over the bed & trudged to the door, ready to scream at whoever was ruining his Sunday morning. Right as he swung open the door, a shoe came flying towards his head & he quickly ducked before it smacked him in the face.

 

“What. the fu-”

 

“Get the FUCK out you ROACH!” Ten screamed at the top of his lungs. Johnny was holding Ten back from Chenle, who for some reason was stood in the middle of their kitchen. “I’m taking that key back WHICH you don’t even deserve to have in the first place. Seriously who gave him a key?!” He was visibly fuming with anger. Donghyuck stood in horror at the scene. He looked around & noticed that Jaemin & Jeno were sat on the couch, completely ignoring the situation to play games on their phones. Mark was sat at the table writing music, also not paying attention to the argument happening right in front of them.

 

“So are we just not going to acknowledge what’s going o-” He was cut off by Chenle’s screaming as Ten broke away from Johnny’s grasp & launched himself at the younger. “Right.” He sat down at the table next to Mark & rested his head on his shoulder, peeking at his computer to see what he was working on. Mark quickly closed his laptop screen before Donghyuck got to see what was written on the page.

 

“Can’t I see what you were working on? So secretive…” He lifted his head off of the other’s shoulder & gave him a pout. Mark smiled sheepishly & ruffled the younger’s hair.

 

“This one I can’t show you.” Donghyuck dropped his head onto the table & sighed exaggeratedly loud. “By the way, what are those two doing?” They turned to look at the two in the middle of the living room, in fighting positions.

 

Renjun appears from his room & stops in his tracks when he sees the two. “What are you both so stanced up for?” He narrows his eyes & watches the two slowly rock back & forth like video game characters.

 

“It’s better if we just let them do their thing. They’ve been at it for 20 minutes.” Jaemin sighed, never looking up from his phone. Renjun shuffled over to where Donghyuck was sitting at the kitchen table. He lightly poked his side & the other turned to look at him, waiting to hear what he clearly wanted to say.

 

“Would you… can you… do my makeup?” He rubbed the back of his neck & sighed out. He could see that he was blushing slightly, eyes looking off to nowhere. Donghyuck sat up straight & smiled widely, taking the other’s hands into his own.

 

“Yes! Of course!” He beamed. “Wait, why?” He tilted his head slightly. He was more than willing to help out his friend, but he was a bit thrown off by the unusual request. Renjun didn’t wear makeup very often, but when he did it was always for a very special occasion.

 

“I’m going out today… with Yukhei.” His voice went quiet at the end. It was just loud enough for the younger to hear.

 

“ON A DATE?!” He yelled loud enough to get everyone’s attention. Renjun went wide-eyed & flushed with embarrassment.

 

“Renjun has a date?! My boy is growing up!” Ten jumped, Chenle’s esophagus still in his grasp.

 

“I-It’s not a date. Just two guys hanging out..” He muttered, not looking at anything or anymore. Renjun was beet red, which was extremely rare for him.

 

“Suuuure. Just two guys that happen to be gay & have feelings for each other.” Donghyuck shot him a shit-eating grin, which was returned by a small wrist being raised, pulled back as if to hit him. He quickly shot up & dragged Renjun into his room to get him ready for his _date_.

 

The rest of the boys left in the common room turned to Mark, all thinking the exact same thing. Only Ten actually spoke what was on all of their minds. “So when are you going to ask Donghyuck on a _proper_ date. Don’t even tell me that you hang-outs are dates. Those don’t count.” Mark stood frozen in his spot, unable to come up with something intelligent to say. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. Instead he coughed up, “Me & Donghyuck are friends. Why would I need to ask him out on a... d-date?” He relaxed in his chair, somewhat satisfied with his response.

 

Ten, however, was not impressed. “Cut the shit. We all know you two are madly in love but neither of you possess enough brain cells to actually admit that to yourselves or each other.” He walked over to the kitchen table & sat himself across from Mark.

 

“We’re not! At least he isn’t in love with me…” Mark finally looked at Ten dead in the eyes. The room went silent as Mark finally confessed (to the wrong person, that is). Ten lightly placed his hand on top of Mark’s. His eyes softened as he gave the younger a weak smile.

 

“Mark, I love you, but you’re an idiot if you don’t see how in love Hyuck is with you.” His eyes were reassuring, but he couldn’t find it within his heart to believe him. Donghyuck was always a flirtatious person. No matter how many times Mark had tried to tell himself that there is a possibility that Donghyuck would reciprocate his feelings, his thoughts would be washed away when he saw him being just a little too close with his other friends. Every time he saw the tanned boy give affection to anyone that wasn’t himself his heart would drop. Even though they were best friends, & Donghyuck would always run to Mark first, before anyone else, he couldn’t help pang in his chest when he noticed the boy being so loving to anyone that wasn’t himself. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to confess to the boy he loved so much. Various terrible scenarios would run through his head without fail. Scenarios such as Donghyuck laughing right to his face, flat out rejecting him without an ounce of care, or even Donghyuck walking right out of his life & never talking to him ever again. He wouldn’t know what to do without the younger in his life. The two had been joint at the hip since they met eight years ago. He never wanted to lose him or the feeling he got whenever the beautiful boy was around.

 

In the next room, Donghyuck had gotten out his large bag full of wonders. Renjun knew little to nothing about makeup besides the fact the colorful stuff went on his eyes & the shiny stuff went on his lips. The rest was a complete mystery.

 

“So… how did he ask you out?” Donghyuck spoke as he carefully blended out the browns & oranges on the other’s eyelids.

 

“He didn’t really ask me out. He just kinda said ‘You. Me. Coffee. Tomorrow afternoon. Capiche?’ What an idiot.” The two chuckled lightly, trying not to mess up the ‘masterpiece in the making’.

 

“Seriously. What are you gonna do with that giant dork?” He grabbed the other’s chin & continued to work on his eyeshadow.

 

“Has Mark asked you out yet? Have you asked him out yet?” Donghyuck froze in his place. Renjun noticed the sudden stillness & opened his eyes to see a shell-shocked Donghyuck. “Oh no… Don’t tell me you two are _still_ denying your feelings for each other.” He shot him a disappointed look.

 

“We’re just friends. We always have been.” He looked down at his crossed legs & smiled weakly.

 

“You two have been playing this game of ‘who can hide their feelings the longest’ for years. Aren’t you tired of it?” Renjun was right. He couldn’t speak for Mark, but he definitely was in love with his best friend, & he had no intention of letting him know that. He was afraid of his reaction. Afraid of telling his _straight_ best friend that he was hopelessly in love with him, & has been for as long as he could remember.

 

“One day, I’ll finally tell him, but I don’t know when I’ll finally get the courage to say ‘hey dumbass, I’m in love with you.’ Assuming that day even comes.” He motioned for the boy across from him to turn his head & so he did.

 

_If only it was that easy._

 

☼

 

“All done! Cute right?” Donghyuck handed Renjun a mirror & watched as the other studied his reflection.

 

“Thanks Hyuck. I love it.” He smiled & exited the room, walking to his room to change, promptly ignoring the coos coming from the boys seated at the couch.

 

“Damn, Hyuck! You really outdid yourself with that one. Yukhei won’t be able to resist him.” Ten threw his arm over the boy as he appeared from the doorway.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

“As if he already can’t resist him. He practically trips over himself every time he tries to talk to him.” Jaemin started laughing hysterically, remembering the time Renjun said hi to him & ate shit immediately after. Who knew you could fall for your crush so literally?

 

Soon after, Renjun came out of his room sporting light-washed ripped jeans & a bright yellow shirt that complimented the orange on his eyes. “Give us a twirl!” Donghyuck yelled out. Renjun sighed & spun around swirling, receiving screams & claps from everyone in the room. Just as the excitement died down, a knock came to the door. Johnny walked over & swung it open, causing Yukhei to tumble over, barely catching himself. His attempt to look “cool” failed miserably, but none of them found it surprising.

 

“You’re incredibly bad at making yourself look cool. I hope you know that.” Renjun shuffled over to the boy who was now trying to save himself from his moderately embarrassing stunt. Yukhei finally took a look at the tiny boy in front of him & was awe-struck.

 

“You’re so pretty.” He stared at Renjun, smiling dumbly. The younger flushed lightly, smacking his arm. Renjun should be the one to compliment Yukhei. He looked too good in his shorts & muscle tee that showed off his toned arms. Renjun thought that he should wear that shirt more often, cause damn did he look hot. “Stop being so cute Injunnie.” He wrapped his arms around the other’s small frame, picking him up & swinging him around. Renjun repeatedly hit his chest but Yukhei didn’t seem affected one bit.

 

“Let me down you giant!” He protested, but grew tired & gave up, letting him hold him.

 

“Ahh young love~” Johnny watched the two’s strange yet endearing interaction. “Have fun on your little date. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

 

“That doesn’t say much.” Ten laughed, shaking his head.

 

Yukhei let Renjun down & pulled him out the door, holding his hand. Donghyuck didn’t want to admit he was a bit jealous, but he definitely was. If only he wasn’t crushing on his best friend. Maybe things would be easier.

 

“I want a boyfriend.” Chenle sighed, flopping onto the couch next to Jaemin & Jeno.

 

“I thought you were dating Jisung.” Jeno turned to him, utterly confused. It was no secret the two were pining after each other. They were equally as bad at flirting, so it wasn’t necessarily shocking that the two hadn’t gotten together yet.

 

“Unfortunately not. I wonder if he’s ever going to ask me out or if I have to do it myself.” He swung his legs on top of the two boys, both groaning at the sudden contact.

 

“I know the feeling.” Donghyuck stole a quick glance at Mark who had turned to him & raised an eyebrow at the sudden comment. Donghyuck turned to him & shrugged. “Oh! I need to go turn in my application. Mark come with me~” He wrapped his arms around his bicep & blinked innocently at the elder. Mark couldn’t say no when the younger gave his signature puppy eyes.

 

“Where are you applying to?” Jeno questioned.

 

“Sephora.” Mark answered for Donghyuck, who was still curled up against his arm.

 

“I would say good luck, but I don’t think you’ll need it. They’d be stupid not to hire you.” Jaemin had put his phone down by this point, finally choosing to join in their conversation.

 

“Thanks babe.” Donghyuck sent a wink in his direction, to which Jaemin smirked at. Mark watched the exchange & couldn’t help but feel jealous. He never knew if their flirting was harmless or if they secretly had something going on between the two. He didn’t really want the answer either.

 

Donghyuck stood up, grabbing Mark’s hand & pulling them into their shared room. When the other boys heard their door shut, Ten gave a mischievous smile & shuffled over to the couch. He sat down onto the arm of the couch & turned to whisper to the boys who were all smiling back at him. “How long until those two start dating?”

 

“I’ll give it 5 days.” Jeno shrugged.

 

“No way. They’ve been emotionally constipated for years. It’ll be a while until they actually grow the balls to confess to each other.” Jaemin leaned over, resting his head on his palm, arm pressing into his thigh.

 

“I’m gonna say 2 weeks. Sharing a room really forces you to become even closer to a person.” Ten sat back, leaning against the wall.

 

“Let’s place bets. Whoever gets it right gets to make the person who had the farthest answer do their chores for a month.” Jaemin grinned at each one of them.

 

“You’re on. Have fun doing my laundry & being my kitchen slave, kid” Ten extended a hand in which Jaemin shook it. He reached his hand out to Jeno, who stared back & forth between Ten & his palm. He sighed & shook it in the end.

 

☼

 

“Should I do something subtle or something bold for my makeup today?” Donghyuck was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of all his makeup that hadn’t been moved from when he did Renjun’s makeup. Mark pushed himself to sit up on the bed & thought about it for a moment.

 

“Do something you think reflects your skills. You want to make a good impression, right?”

 

“Hmm, you’re right. Thanks Markie!” He quickly set out all of the products he was going to need, clearly already having a look in mind. Mark swung his legs over & stood up, making his way over to his dresser & picking out an outfit. He ended up grabbing some ripped jeans & a plain black shirt. He quickly went to change & when he emerged from the bathroom he flopped onto the bed, eyes shutting slightly. Donghyuck smiled to himself when he heard Mark’s light snores. After about 30 minutes of working on his makeup, he had finally finished. He did a bold smokey eye with soft red lip tint in a gradient on his lips. He didn’t forget to put a good amount of highlight onto his cheeks, making his tanned skin glow. He packed up his makeup & left to change into some black ripped skinny jeans topped off with a bright red shirt & a dainty necklace with a silver key on it that Mark had gotten him for his sixteenth birthday. To say that he treasured that piece of jewelry was an understatement.

 

He smiled as he noticed Mark was still fast asleep. He decided instead of waking him up properly, he would take the opportunity to lay down on top of him. The other’s eyes fluttered open slowly at the sudden contact. He smiled when he finally registered that the boy was cuddling him. He ran a hand through his hair, stroking in lightly. Donghyuck always loved it when anyone played with his hair. Something about the feeling was extremely calming & something about Mark being the one to do it made him feel at home. Mark sighed into his hair & wrapped an arm around his waist. “Can we just stay like this all day?”

 

“I wish, but I really need to get a job as soon as possible. I can’t stay broke forever.” He sat up, straddling Mark & placed his hands on the other’s stomach. Mark rested his hands on the other’s thighs. A few moments later he lightly smacked his thighs, signaling for him to get off. He swung his legs over & climbed off of the bed. He grabbed Mark’s hand & helped him up. They intertwined their fingers & got ready to leave. Donghyuck grabbed his bag that contained his application & threw it over his shoulders. They never broke away from each other’s hold as they exited their room & headed for the door. They ignored the boys who most definitely were grinning at them. They exited their apartment & head towards the mall in which the Sephora was located in.

 

As they walked, they swung their arms back & forth, smiling at each other. Donghyuck looked up to the sky & closed his eyes, enjoying the warm sunlight on his skin. Mark watched the boy carefully, studying his features. _God he’s so beautiful. Every single thing about him._ He traced the line of his nose with his eyes all the way down to his chin. He looked absolutely radiant & Mark couldn’t help but feel his heart flutter. Donghyuck opened an eye & looked over to the boy who was staring at him.

 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” He smiled at him, which caused Mark to get a bit flustered, but not enough for the other to notice.

 

“Nothing.” He turned to look ahead of them. He spotted the mall & moved his head to signal for Donghyuck to look ahead.

 

When they finally reached the mall they headed for straight for the Sephora. As they arrived, Mark looked around, getting slightly overwhelmed with the many shelves & brands he has never heard of before. They walked up to the counter where an employee was standing, scrolling through something on her phone. He released Mark’s hand from his own, immediately missing the warmth of the other.

 

“Hi, I’m here to apply. I already filled out the application.” He unzips his bag & hands the employee the piece of paper.

 

“Great! I’ll give it to the manager & she’ll get back to you soon.” He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Relieved that the exchange was pretty easy & quick. “By the way I love your makeup. Beats a lot of the staff’s skills here. I’m sure you’ll get the job, so don’t worry too much.

 

“Thanks so much! This is probably the only place I could work that wouldn’t make me want to smash my head through a wall.” He joked, not really caring that the joke was a bit intense, but she seemed to respond well seeing how she laughed at that.

 

“It’s pretty fun here. I’ll look forward to working with you.” She breathed out through dying laughter. “Is this your boyfriend?” She turned to the other boy who was standing awkwardly to the side of him.

 

“I-It’s not like that!” Donghyuck waved his hands in protest, receiving a questioning look from the woman. His cheeks turned a bright red that even foundation couldn’t cover.

 

“I’ll believe that. But you should consider dating, you’d be a really cute couple.” She winked at them & walked away towards the back room. The two shared a quick glance at each other before looking away at the exact same time. They headed back home but this time they didn’t hold hands. The walk back home was for the most part silent but after what seemed like too long of awkward silence, Donghyuck finally spoke up.

 

“Have you looked into any jobs yet?”

 

“Yuta offered me a job at the Starbucks he works at. I think I’m gonna take it. Might as well work with people I already know. Makes a long shift a little more bearable.”

 

“Or even harder. Yuta-hyung is really something else I couldn’t imagine being around him all day in a place you can’t escape.” Donghyuck snorted. Mark let out a breathy laugh & shook his head.

 

“You’re right, but at least he’s forced to be professional so he won’t be as energetic as he usually is.”

 

“That’s true. Good luck with all of that. I hope you know that this means that you have no choice but to give me free coffee whenever I ask.” He blinked rapidly, trying to convince Mark to let him have unearned free items. But of course, Mark could never say no to Donghyuck & his adorable charms.

 

“Yeah yeah.” He chuckled to himself & threw his arm over the other’s shoulder. If it was anyone else, he would have most certainly said absolutely the _fuck_ not. But this was Donghyuck, & he would give his spleen to him if he asked. Free drinks was nothing compared to his organs. Donghyuck rested his head on Mark’s shoulder, not caring that they were both sweating from the heat.

 

☼

 

Renjun & Yukhei arrived at Starbucks still with their hands intertwined. The door chimed as they opened it, causing a blonde boy behind the counter to throw his phone at the computer screen accidentally. He finally looked at the two & smiled as wide as his lips could reach.

 

“What do we have here?! Two love birds on a coffee date?!” Yuta practically yelled. Renjun flushed & looked away, too embarrassed at the sudden attention from many of the people sitting around the shop. “Want your regulars?”

 

“REGULAR, HUH?!” Yukhei yelled, releasing his grip on Renjun’s hand, leaning forward & making a ‘huh’ gesture with his hands. The two went silent & stared at him for a few moments too long.

 

“What’s that?”

 

“I have no idea.”

 

“It’s- nevermind.” He sighed in defeat after seeing their faces turn from confusion to disappointment. “Yeah. The regular.”

 

“Got it chief.” Yuta saluted Yukhei before turning away to fix their drinks. The two boys seated themself on a cushioned bench not too far from the counter. Renjun watched Yuta run around grabbing ingredients & mixing them together carefully.

 

“Who knew Yuta actually enjoyed his job. I mean look at hi-” Renjun turned to face Yukhei, who was already staring at him. The elder looked at him with stars in his eyes & smiled dumbly. Renjun stood frozen for a moment, staring straight back at the other. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“You just look so pretty. I can’t help but stare at you.” Yukhei said, giving a slight smirk that caused Renjun’s cheeks to heat up from the sudden straight-forward comment. He playfully hit his chest causing the older to both laugh & groan at the impact. “Stop being so cute. I don’t think my heart can handle it.” He dramatically clenched his heart & bent over, slightly causing a scene. Their laughters were a bit too loud & caused several dirty looks & questioning stares.

 

“Tell me why I’m even dating you.” Renjun chuckled lightly before freezing at what he said. They weren’t exactly dating, but they both knew that they had feelings for each other. Neither of them knew what to call whatever they were, & that topic has never been brought up until now. The two made eye contact for what felt like hours, unsure what to say. Before Yukhei could say anything, Yuta appeared before them & placed their drinks on the table just in front of them.

 

“One iced-americano for the half-sized man & one white hot chocolate for the over-sized idiot.” He smirked as the two gave them scowls. He wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to insult his friends while still being a nice friend by giving them free stuff.

 

“Seriously how can you drink that stuff? It’s so sweet.” Renjun picked up his coffee & sipped it, satisfied with the taste. Yuta wasn’t good for much, but he was great at making coffee just right. One of the small pleasures Renjun truly appreciated.

 

“I should be saying that to you. How do you drink something so bitter? Besides that, what can I say? I like sweet things.” He grinned & threw an arm around the other’s waist & pulled him close. He groaned at the sudden contact but he would be lying if he didn’t enjoy it. That’s because it’s Yukhei, & something about him felt comforting, no matter what.

 

They sat around for hours, catching up on each other’s lives & entering heated debates that only they would find important. ‘ _Sakura was a great character! She was the only person who was always reasonable & normal.’ ‘No way. All she did was sit around & cry for Sasuke.’ ‘We all have opinions, but yours is wrong.’ _After their serious (not really) debates they began walking back to their apartment building. Along the way they mysteriously ended up at a park (courtesy to Yukhei) & found themselves sitting on the swings. Ignoring the strange looks from both parents & kids at the park, they let themselves enjoy each other’s company. That adventure turned into quite a mess after Yukhei accidentally knocked into Renjun, making him fall straight onto his face. He taller boy scooped him up in his arms after seeing the scrape on his knee begin to bleed. If it was anyone else, he would have choked them out until they were purple but because it was Yukhei he brushed it off & let him be cared for like a wounded puppy.

 

“I can walk, you know. It’s not like my legs are broken or anything.”

 

“Let me take care of you from time to time. Okay?” Renjun nodded slowly & tapped his shoulder to let him down. Yukhei, who was still carrying him bridal style, let him down slowly & watched as he started limping slightly. He slowly snaked his arm around the other’s hips ‘for support’ & pulled him close. They walked like that all the way home, neither of them saying much, just enjoying the feeling of being by each other’s side (literally).

 

Once arriving to Renjun’s door, Yukhei grabbed his hand, forcing him to look directly at him. He stared into the other’s eyes for a few beats before gripping his hand even tighter than before. “What I said earlier, about taking care of you. I meant it.” Renjun watched him carefully in awe. He can’t think of a time he’s heard Yukhei speak so seriously. The way he was looking at him made his heart flutter in all the right ways.

 

“What are you saying?” He felt his cheeks heating up. Yukhei smiled at him & slowly cupped his cheek with his free hand.

 

“Let me be your boyfriend. I promise I’ll take good care of you.” Renjun felt his heart rate pick up. He never knew how the other had such a way of making him feel so nervous but so safe at the same time.

 

“Promise?” He slowly brought his hand to hold the larger hand that was cradling his cheek.

 

“I promise.” He felt his body move on its own when his face inched closer to the other’s. “So, what’s your answer?”

 

“You should know the answer already, idiot.” He slowly closed the distance between them & placed his lips on the ones in front of him. The kiss was soft & sweet, full of tenderness & care. He released his hands from the other’s & wrapped his arms around the taller boy’s neck, pulling him in closer. Yukhei responded by wrapping his long arms around the boy’s tiny frame & pulled him impossibly closer. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss & leaned down even farther, causing the smaller boy to lean back slightly. Their lips slotted together perfectly like puzzle pieces. They didn’t know much about love, but if this was what it felt like, neither of them would give it up for the world.

 

Once they finally broke away, they stayed holding each other for a while, smiling like love-drunk fools. Yukhei gave another quick kiss to Renjun’s lips & held him close. Renjun pulled back, staring at him with sparkling eyes & a soft smile. “Do you want to stay for a bit?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> luren nation make some mf noise!


	3. cheers to the beginning of the rest of our lives

Renjun & Yukhei walked through the door, hands intertwined. They moved past the boys that were seated on the couch, ignoring their intense stares. Each set of eyes followed the two until the door to Jeno, Jaemin, & Renjun’s shared room shut. Ten turned to look at Jaemin & Jeno, a devilish smile creeping up onto his face.

“Guess they stopped being idiots & finally admitted their feelings for each other.” He sat back, not trying to hide the satisfaction displaced upon his face. “At least those two figured their shit out.” He glanced at Mark & Donghyuck’s bedroom & sighed to himself.

“How long do you think it’ll be until they stop denying their feelings for each other & actually do something?” It was Jeno’s turn to sigh.

“We already made our bets. We just have to wait & see.” Jaemin chuckled.

“They’ve been going on like this for 8 years now. They gotta crack eventually.” Ten shrugged. Apparently everyone except the two subject matters can tell their feelings are mutual. Being friends with them for so long, it’s hard not to notice that the way they interact isn’t exactly typical best friend behavior. It was a mystery how they kept their secrets from each other for this long. Mark practically breaks down everytime he sees Donghyuck & Donghyuck clings to Mark like his life depends on it.

“Has Mark come out yet?” Jeno suddenly remembered. They all knew Mark wasn’t fully straight, but none of them could remember a time where Mark ever brought up anything to do with his sexuality. He’s had girlfriends (none of which lasted very long) so they never knew if Mark was only into men judging by his failed relationships with women or if he was into both, but judging by the way he looks at Donghyuck, there was no way he could convince any of them that he is, indeed, straight.

“He still says ‘no homo’ right after doing something very homo, so I’m going to assume no.” Jaemin bursted out, causing all three of them to laugh until tears fell from their eyes.

“He’s hopeless. It must be hard for Donghyuck having to deal with that all the time.” Ten giggled out, wiping aways his tears. Their laughter died out when the heard the door open, Mark & Donghyuck following. Their hair was all messy & their clothes looked a bit of a mess, Mark’s muscle-tee almost exposing his chest & Donghyuck’s shirt falling off his shoulder exposing his collarbone.

“Gasp! Were you two participating in non-christian activities?” Ten called out, exaggeratedly loud.

“Since when is taking a nap considered sinful?” Mark murmured & sat down on the sofa beside the one that was being currently occupied. Donghyuck followed, immediately laying down & resting his head in Mark’s lap. Mark groaned in protest, but soon after started playing with the younger’s hair. Donghyuck shut his eyes, enjoying the feeling of his scalp being touched. “By the way, when did Lele & Johnny-hyung leave?”

“While you & Mark were out. Chenle snuck into Ten’s bed while they were cuddling & passed out right in between them. Johnny felt bad so he took him home. Wait, isn’t that Mark’s shirt?” Jeno questioned. They all came to the sudden realization & grinned at the two. Mark felt his cheeks begin to burn up under the piercing gazes. Donghyuck didn’t seem to be phased by the sudden question. It wasn’t exactly abnormal for the younger to steal Mark’s clothes, in fact he was constantly sporting clothes that didn’t belong to him.

“& what if it is? His clothes are always more comfortable.” He finally opened his eyes & pouted at nosy group of boys across from him. He seemed to be the only one who didn’t notice Mark’s beet red cheeks.

Mark snapped out of his mini breakdown when he heard a light crackling noise. He looked around for the source but couldn’t figure out where it came from. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Ten turned to look at him, worry starting to flash across his eyes.

“That weird cracking noise. I can’t be the only one that heard it.” Mark kept searching the room with his eyes, leaving the other boys completely lost.

“I think I heard it too.” Jaemin quickly began scanning their surroundings just as Mark had been frantically doing for the past thirty seconds. He turned to face Jeno who was about to turn white. “Jeno? Are you okay?”

As if he wasn’t expecting the question he snapped his head to look at him so fast Jaemin was worried he was going to get whiplash. Jeno’s eyes got wider & wider, the color completely draining from his face. He suddenly exhaled a cloud of smoke straight into Jaemin’s face & gasped out for air.

“Jeno what the fuck.” Is all Jaemin could say, the smell of mint flooding his nostrils.

“Is that a fucking Juul?!” Ten yelled out, shock clearly shown all over his face. Jeno’s head whipped back & forth between the two. He looked like he was about to cry. “N-no…” He put his head down slowly, feeling ashamed in the way his friends were judging him.

“I can’t believe you…” Jaemin started. Jeno’s face started to turn bright red. He was fully riddled with embarrassment. He had gotten one a good long time ago but never told his friends because of how cliche it is to own a Juul nowadays. He wouldn’t say he was attached to it but he liked the way it took away a little bit of stress. To say that he didn’t expect this kind of reaction would be a lie. He was getting ready to be chewed out for it until Jaemin continued, “Mint pods?! Really?! I thought you were better than that…” Jeno stood in shock, his brain trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

“I’m confiscating this device young man. You’ll get it back…” Ten paused & pretended like he was thinking about it. “Never.” He stood up & snatched it out of his hands, causing a dissatisfied groan from the younger. Jeno watched as he sat back down & put the Juul up to his mouth, taking a hit. Everyone stood in silence as Ten blew out the smoke & exaggeratedly smacked his lips. “The flavor…”

Jeno sighed & leaned back into the couch. Knowing that Ten was enjoying it a little too much made his head throb. “You’re the worst.” He mumbled just loud enough for everyone to hear it.

“I’m harboring the lung cancer for you. You should be grateful.” Ten shot back, taking another drag off of it.

Donghyuck sat up & faced Ten who was across from him. “Ten-hyung?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you have plans tonight?” He asked curiously. Ten squinted at the sudden question.

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” He slumped back down onto Mark & rested his head on his shoulder.

“In fact I do. Johnny & his dumbass roommates haven’t eaten properly in weeks so I’m going to go make dinner for them.” He sighed & took another hit from Jeno’s Juul. Jeno looked like he was going to explode any second. “Actually, I should probably leave soon.”

The boys watched as Ten entered his room, taking the Juul with him. Donghyuck grabbed his phone out of his pocket & shot a text into their group chat.

Fullsun **: ten is leaving. party at our place tonight.**

**Screech: COUNT ME IN**

**Yung Park: i’ll be there too**

**NoJam: he stole my** juul **can we trash his room**

 **Screech: you have a** juul **?**

 **Yung Park: can** i **hit it**

**Bark Bee: no. absolutely not.**

**Nana:** jisung **ur like 5**

 **Yung Park:** im **17**

**Nana: no ur 5**

**Screech: wheres injun-** hyung **?**

Fullsun **: canoodling with his boyfriend**

**Yung Park: boyfriend?**

Fullsun **:** yukhei

**Screech: when did that happen?**

**The Renjun That Lights The World: how dare you speak about me without my gracious presence**

**The Renjun That Lights The World: also today**

Fullsun **: SO ITS OFFICIAL?**

 **The Renjun That Lights The World:** i dont **have to answer that**

**Bark Bee: so it is.**

Fullsun **: what are you guys even doing in there?**

**The Renjun That Lights The World: he fell asleep watching anime**

Fullsun **: so why** dont **you come out and hang out with us**

 **The Renjun That Lights The World:** i **cant**

**NoJam: why not**

“They’re cuddling.” Donghyuck whisper-shouted to Jeno.

“I heard that!” Renjun shouted from behind the door.

They all bursted out into laughter, resulting with bodies falling to the floor & poor Mark’s arm getting beaten to death.

“What’s so funny?” Ten exited his room & looked around, seeing Jeno on the floor, Jaemin flat onto the couch, & Mark rubbing his arm in pain.

“Don’t worry about it. Go have fun with your boyfriend & the others, hyung.” Donghyuck spoke out in between dying laughter.

“By the way, is Yukhei still in there?”

“Yeah. He’s a bit… busy.” Jaemin winked at Ten. He stood questioning for a moment before gasping & covering his mouth.

“At least one of my children is finally getting some.”

“Don’t be gross, hyung. He’s sleeping soundly using Renjun as a plushie.” Jaemin both looked & sounded fully pleased with himself.

“I heard that too!” Renjun shouted. The boys broke out into laughter once again, this time Ten joining along.

Ten wiped the tears forming at his eyes & held his stomach. “Alright, I’m off. Try not to burn down the house while I’m gone.” He said, laughter dying out.

“No promises!” Jeno shouted. He shot him a death glare & quickly turned on his heel & headed towards the door. He smiled & waved before exiting. They waited for the door to close before plotting to do everything Ten warned them not to do.

Donghyuck got up the moment they heard the door shut & walked towards Ten’s room. “What are you doing?” Mark asked, eyes following his movements.

“I’m stealing Ten-hyung’s vodka, obviously.” He stated like it was clear what his intentions were. To be fair, they wouldn’t have expected any less. Donghyuck was known for having bad ideas without thinking about the consequences.

He disappeared into his room & came back just a few moments later. “He really should hide things better. The entire bottle was just sitting on his night stand.” He hit Jeno’s Juul before tossing it at him. He coughed out all of the smoke & held his neck. “Jesus Jeno. How do you even smoke this shit. Should have gotten the mango pods.”

“You’re the only person I trust in this goddamn house.” Jaemin shot Jeno a brief glare.

“Why do you all know this much about Juuls?” Mark sighed, disappointed in his friends. Before any of them could say anything, Mark pulled out a Juul of his own & took a long drag, blowing out the smoke up to the ceiling. Their jaws dropped as they watched Mark of all people exhale smoke from his mouth.

“Mark Lee. Are you going to explain yourself?” Donghyuck sat down next to Mark.

“Nope.” He brought it back to his mouth & took another hit before blowing it into Donghyuck’s face.

Jaemin sniffed the air & smiled “Mango. You & Donghyuck are the only people in this house I trust.”

“Ouch.” Jeno said with no real offense taken.

“I’m gonna go wake up Yukhei.” Donghyuck sighed & got up, taking the bottle with him.

He slowly opened the door to the room to the room only to find the two boys laid on the bed cuddling. Yukhei had an arm under Renjun’s pillow & another draped across his waist. Renjun’s head snapped at the sound of the door opening. He squinted when he saw the light peeking through, blinding his darkness-adjusted eyes. Renjun sighed & turned back to his phone. “Oh, it’s just you.” He scrolled through his twitter feed for a moment before turning his head again to look at the intruder. “Wait why are you in here?”

Donghyuck lifted the nearly full bottle of vodka & shook it slightly. Renjun locked his phone & smiled at the boy, knowing exactly what acquiring the bottle would entail. He shuffled quietly over to the two boys & uncapped the bottle. He slowly brought it up to Yukhei’s nose & watched as the older male exhaled & inhaled. The moment he finished inhaling he shot up from his position laying out, forcing Renjun’s head to be thrown up before slamming down onto the bed. Idiot. Donghyuck whispered. Luckily, he knew exactly what was going to happen so he had quickly removed the bottle from his general vicinity before any mess could have been created.

“IT’S TIME TO PARTY!” Yukhei shouted, much too loud for someone who had just been woken up out of a deep sleep. He jumped up off the bed & turned to Renjun, swiftly picking him up & slinging him over his shoulder. He ran out of the room, ignoring Renjun’s protests.

“Let me down you oversized idiot!” Renjun yelled, hitting Yukhei’s back with his fists. Either Renjun wasn’t trying to hurt Yukhei or Yukhei wasn’t affected by Renjun’s small yet powerful fists, because he paid no mind to the younger.

Donghyuck came into the room hunched over, holding his stomach. His laughter filled the entire room & the rest of them couldn’t help but laugh along. They were truly an odd pair, seeing how their personalities were vastly different. Renjun was quiet & bitter, while Yukhei was loud & easy-going. Despite their differences, they were a pair that fit each other like puzzle pieces.

Yukhei gently put Renjun down before snatching the bottle out of Donghyuck’s grip, swiftly unscrewing the lid & flicking it off, sending it across the room. He took a few (several) gulps & passed it along to Renjun, who happily took the bottle & took a swig.

“You two are unbelievable. Sometimes I wonder if either of you are actually human.” Jeno stared in disgust. Renjun cringed at the taste while Yukhei looked fully uneffected.

“Are any of us real? What if we’re living in a simulation & someone is controlling our every move, testing different scenarios.” Jaemin sat staring out at what seemed to be absolutely nothing.

“Like we’re Sims characters.” Mark added. Donghyuck slightly hit his arm at the comment. “Don’t encourage this.”

“I’m convinced Taeyong-hyung is a Sims character. He just freezes add of a sudden like he’s waiting for a command.” Jeno also added. Renjun sighed & shook his head. He really oughta get new friends.

“I’m going to grab some mixers. As much as I’d like to chug this bottle of hand sanitizer, we’re going to be easy on both our throats & our livers tonight.” Donghyuck excitedly ran over to the fridge, rummaging through the various juices & sodas that filled their fridge. He grabbed some orange juice & coca-cola & placed it on the counter. When he went to grab some cups out of the cabinet he reached for the stack of red solo cups but fell slightly too short. He stood on to his toes in attempt to grab the plastic cups until he felt a hand on his waist & saw a pale arm grab them off of the shelf. He turned his body around only to be greeted by Mark, his face only a few inches away from his own. He felt his ears & cheeks begin to turn a light shade of pink at the sudden closeness.

“Having a little trouble there shorty?” Mark grinned at him. Donghyuck felt his already red face begin to heat up. Usually it was Donghyuck who made Mark flustered with his quick tongue & wittiness. Luckily Donghyuck’s makeup was still mostly intact, making it a little less obvious that he was blushing.

“You’re only an inch taller than me.” He shot back, jutting his lips out into a pout.

“An inch makes a difference.” Mark chuckled out. Donghyuck scoffed at the statement.

“You’re disgusting.” Donghyuck spat out.

“Get your head out of the gutter.”

“Get your head out of your ass.” They both laughed at the sharpness of the younger’s words. Mark had always been amazed on how quick Donghyuck was to come up with a witty comeback. “So are you going to let go of me now?”

Mark had looked down at his hand that was rested on Donghyuck’s waist, only realizing moments later that it was still placed there. He quickly let go & turned to the island-counter to place the cups down. Donghyuck let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. He then walked over to Yukhei who was seemingly about to take another swig from the bottle & confiscated the alcohol. The older let out a dissatisfied groan (in which Donghyuck swiftly ignored). Donghyuck returned to the counter & began pouring the liquid into the cups which mark had placed in a line. Mark poured orange juice into the cups that were already filled with vodka & coke into the rest.

“Are Chenle & Jisung having some?” Mark asked before pouring the mixers into the remainder of the two cups.

“Damn straight we are!” Chenle swung open the door as if on cue. They watched & cringed, waiting for the sound of the door slamming into the wall, but luckily this time the wall was safe from any further damage it had already been given in their short time living there.

“Better pour some fucking coke into my glass or it’s to the rooftop we go.” Jisung shot finger guns towards Mark.

“Rooftop?” Yukhei questioned.

“No one has told you yet?” Renjun slipped his small hand into Yukhei’s larger one, pulling him closer.

“No. What’s happening on the rooftop?”

“We made a deal when we were in high school that once Jisung finally becomes an adult we’ll put on suits & have a fight on the rooftop.” Jaemin explained. Yukhei let out an understanding noise as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world.

“To the death!” Chenle shouted, throwing punches into the air.

“No. Not to the death.” Mark sighed, pouring orange juice into the cup that was supposed to be designated to Chenle.

“Come get y’all juice!” Donghyuck called out, picking up the (mostly vodka) screwdriver he made for himself.

The other six boys rushed over to pick their prefered concoctions. Jaemin snatched up the last coke mix & Jeno whined in defeat. “Hey! I wanted that one.” Jaemin stuck his tongue out at the other, taunting him without any real harm. “Maybe if you had better taste buds you’d be able to get the drink of your choice.” Jeno huffed out in annoyance but picked up the screwdriver & took a swig anyways.

“Hey, asshole. You can’t take a sip until we’ve had a proper cheers.” Donghyuck hissed at Jeno. The other nearly choked on his drink at the sudden call out.

Mark raised his cup, the rest following his actions. “To the next step in our lives. Even though we have new responsibilities, we’ve been granted the gift of freedom. Cheers to the beginning of the rest of our lives.” He finished with a warm smile. The seven boys cooed at his speech.

“You can never stop being poetic & cheesy, huh?” Donghyuck smiled fondly & stroked Mark’s hair lightly with his free hand. Mark shot him an equally as fond smile & wrapped an arm around his shoulder. The rest of the boys cooed even louder at the two, exaggeratedly whooping & hollering.

“Cheers!” Donghyuck yelled out overtop of the loudness of his friends. They clinked their plastic cups together & began chugging. They kept going until each one of their cups were completely empty. They slammed their cups down one after another. Donghyuck waited until they were all finished before beaming, “Round two?”

☾

By their third cups, they had all sat down onto the floor in a circle. Renjun rested in-between Yukhei’s legs, laying against his chest, across from them Donghyuck had made himself comfortable curled up into Mark’s side, resting his head against his shoulder, & Jisung, Chenle, Jaemin, & Jeno were on either side of them. Yukhei had suggested they play “Never Have I Ever” which received a positive response from all seven of the other boys.

“I’ll go first. Never have I ever dyed my hair.” Yukhei grinned. All of them (except Yukhei) groaned & clapped their hands, putting a finger down.

“We should change that” Donghyuck suggested.

“I second that.” Renjun added in.

“I third that.” Jeno spoke up, receiving questioning & disappointed looks from all of them.

“I fourth that.” Chenle giggled out. Only Chenle would find Jeno’s jokes mildly amusing.

“So anyways…” Jaemin swiftly stopped them before it went on any further. “Never have I ever owned a Juul.”

Jeno & Mark groaned & clapped their hands, putting down another finger. As if Mark suddenly remembered, he fished his out of his pocket & placed it between his lips, only to have it snatched away by Donghyuck, who smugly watched him as he placed it between his own & took a hit. He blew the smoke up towards Mark, the smoke hitting his cheek & ear. He frowned & reclaimed the device.

“Never have I ever been Chinese.” Jeno stated.

“Now that’s just unfair.” Renjun scoffed. Yukhei, Renjun, & Chenle clapped, putting yet another finger down.

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” Jeno mocked.

“I don’t think that’s the right use of that phrase.” Jisung mumbled.

It was now Donghyuck’s turn, & something came to his mind. “Never have I ever had my first kiss.” He felt his cheeks burn up at the sudden silence across the room. Jaemin, Jeno, Renjun, Yukhei, & Mark all clapped their hands. Donghyuck had known Mark had girlfriends, so he wasn’t exactly shocked that he’s already had his first kiss, but somehow the thought of Mark kissing someone else caused his heart to drop. Mark, who was still looking at Donghyuck, had watched the younger’s face fall slightly. Donghyuck was good at hiding his emotions, but not well enough for it to go unnoticed by Mark. He decided not to pry & let it go.

They continued on playing until Yukhei had hit zero. “Come on you guys were singling me out!” He had protested. “Sorry babe. Nothing says you have to be fair in this game, only truthful.” After finishing the game they had stayed in their spots & caught up with each other on their recent news & current happenings. They laughed together, gotten into deep existential conversations, & even heated debates over random tv show characters. “Jon Snow is the best Stark, you can’t even tell me otherwise.” “He’s a Snow, not a Stark, so your opinions are invalid.” “At least he didn’t die early in the show.” “Take that back you monster!”

After all had been said & done, they had all found themselves drifting off to sleep. The only two that remained awake were Mark & Donghyuck. They had been both talking about random subjects that came to mind & enjoying the comfortable silence that fell between the two. Mark was starting to doze off until Donghyuck had spoken up.

“I can’t believe I still haven’t had my first kiss yet.” He mumbled. Mark was shocked at the statement, to say the least. “I still don’t even know how to kiss.”

An idea suddenly popped into Mark’s head, & in his drunken state he didn’t think to question it. “I could… teach you how to kiss.” Donghyuck slowly lifted his head up off of Mark’s shoulder & studied the look on his face. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t decipher what Mark was thinking. Donghyuck blushed & dropped his head, looking down at his lap.

“W-Would you do that?” He spoke out barely above a whisper. Mark lifted his chin with his hand & looked Donghyuck directly in the eyes. He smiled softly at the younger, assuring that it’ll be okay.

“Anything for you.” He slid his hand up to cup Donghyuck’s cheek, in which the other responded by placing his own hand on top of Mark’s. “Can I kiss you?” Donghyuck smiled softly & nodded his head, too afraid that his voice would fail him. Mark leaned forward slowly, tilting his head a bit to the side. Donghyuck followed just the same, his heart beating out of his chest. They closed their eyes & lightly connected their lips. It was gentle, but it felt just right. Mark pressed another kiss to the other’s heart shaped lips, this time a little deeper. Donghyuck sighed into the kiss, enjoying the feeling of Mark’s lips on his own. Donghyuck retracted his hand from the other’s & carded his fingers through Mark’s jet black hair. This action must have pleased Mark, because he let out a satisfied noise & pressed his lips against the younger’s a little harder this time.

Mark slid his arm down to Donghyuck’s waist, swiftly wrapping it around him & pulling him into his lap. Donghyuck draped his arms over his shoulders & kissed him hurriedly. Their kisses began to become a little more sloppy, but still just as intense as before. Mark brought his free hand up to hold Donghyuck’s hips in place, kissing him rougher & faster. They finally pulled away from each other, gasping for air. Mark smirked at him, causing Donghyuck to pull him back in for another kiss. Mark broke away again to place kisses onto the side of his lips, then down to his jaw, before placing kisses onto Donghyuck’s neck. Donghyuck’s hands found their way back to Mark’s hair, tugging lightly at the strands. He pulled Mark back up for another kiss, this time more desperate. He slid his hands onto Mark’s chest as Mark gripped his hips tighter. They continued like this for what seemed like an hour until they pulled away again for air.

Donghyuck dropped his head into the crook of Mark’s neck & sighed. Mark placed a soft kiss to his forehead & ruffled his hair lightly. “I’m sleepy.” Donghyuck whined. Mark hummed back before picking Donghyuck up & lay both of them down onto the couch. The younger immediately curled into Mark, moving slightly to rest his head on Mark’s chest. The elder ran his fingers through the younger’s hair until he found himself drifting off to sleep.

☼

When morning finally came, Donghyuck fluttered his eyes open slowly, his sleep induced mind trying to adjust to reality. He felt the warmth of another body & looked up to notice Mark sound asleep. He smiled to himself before wincing at the sharp pain that hit him too quickly. He rubbed his temples in attempt to soothe the pain when all of a sudden the memories of last night flooded back to him. He remembers their celebratory cheers, then their game, followed by Jisung & Jaemin’s bickering. After that his mind went blank. He tried to remember what happened afterwards when it suddenly hit him. He was sat next to Mark, then the next thing he knew he was face to face with him. The imagine of Mark closer his eyes & pulling him closer hit him like a freight train. Did Mark & _I- Oh god Mark kissed me. I kissed Mark._

His cheeks began burning up as he lifted his head up to look at the sleeping boy he was using as a pillow. He gasped & covered his mouth with both of his hands, finally letting all of it sink it. He had just had his first kiss, & it was with his childhood best friend & long term crush, Mark Lee. He sat up quickly, causing his head to pound again. He shot up off of the couch & stumbled to the glass door before swinging it open & stepping onto the balcony. He shut the door behind him & walked towards the protective barrier & draped himself over it. He sighed, letting all of his emotions out into the warm summer air. He sat up, looking out into the city. Though they didn’t live in the most luxurious apartment complex, it did have a really nice view.

He watched over the city, peering at the cars passing by & letting his mind wander. Donghyuck jumped as the screen door slid open behind him. He turned to see Renjun holding two mugs filled with presumably coffee. Renjun handed off one of the mugs to him, receiving a quiet “thank you.” from the other. Renjun sat down on one of the chairs at the glass table in the center of the balcony. Donghyuck followed, sitting across from him. They sat in silence for a bit, just enjoying the warm coffee & the slight breeze that danced across their skin. Donghyuck looked up from his coffee to see a curious look on Renjun’s face.

“What is it?” He questioned, taking a sip from his mug.

“You & Mark. What was that all about? ” Renjun shot straight back.

Donghyuck choked on his coffee at the question. _Did Renjun know what they did?_ “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t act dumb with me. I saw you & Mark last night kissing. Care to explain?” Renjun said, eyes never leaving Donghyuck. He studied his serious look & sighed, placing his mug down onto the glass.

“I don’t know. My dumbass was giving myself a pity party over the fact that I had never had my first kiss & then all of a sudden Mark was asking to kiss me.” Donghyuck dropped his head onto the table, enjoying the feeling of the cool surface against his cheek.

“Why do you think he wanted to kiss you?” Renjun’s face softened at Donghyuck’s clear frustration.

“I have no idea. Maybe he felt bad for me. Maybe he just wanted to be a good ‘bro’ & save me a little bit of shame.” He sat back up, extending one arm onto the table & gently tapping at the glass with his fingernails.

“With the way you two were sucking each other’s faces off I’d say it’s a little more than just a ‘bro helping out his bro’, you know?”

“See that’s why I’m so confused. He’s never acted like that before. I keep trying to think about why he could have possibly wanted to kiss me & I can’t think of anything logical.” Donghyuck sighed in defeat, taking another sip of his coffee.

“Have you ever thought maybe… he’s just as much in love with you as you are with him?” Donghyuck spat out his coffee onto the balcony floor & nearly coughed a lung out. He wiped his face & stared directly at Renjun with wide eyes.

“There’s no way. Why would he ever fall for me? Plus he’s probably straight. I’ve never even heard him talk about boys in a non-heterosexual way.” He slumped into his seat.

“You two have been with each other for so long it’s somewhat expected that you’d either hate each other’s guts or fall for each other.” Renjun took another sip from his coffee, never taking his eyes off the other.

“I don’t know.” He groaned loud enough to let out all of his pent up emotions but not loud enough to get a noise complaint. “This is all so fucking confusing.”

“Why don’t you just… I don’t know… ask him why he kissed you?” Renjun said as if it was the most obvious solution to the problem at hand. (to be fair, it was, but Donghyuck skipped over that option straight away).

“I don’t want to say this, but maybe you’re right. It’s the only way I’ll find closure.”

“I’m always right.” He shot the other a smug grin, resulting in Donghyuck giving him the finger. They chuckled together for a short while before returning to comfortable silence. The silence didn’t last very long when the front door open & Ten’s muffled shouting could be heard even from outside. They both turned at the same time, barely phased by the smoke coming out of the eldest’s ears. They turned back to face each other & broke out into loud cackles. They might as well enjoy themselves while they still can.

Today was going to be a very long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my twitter mutuals encouraged dreamies juuling so here it is. i swear this fic isn't going to have much angst but its in there for relationship/character development. before u come at me with pitchforks don't worry it's not going to last too long.


	4. we can't stay broke forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i thought i was going to be updating this quickly but i go to school full time & work part time so i'm a little busy. get ready for a fluffy filler chapter.

The two boys slipped back inside & almost wished that they didn’t. Ten was stood in the middle of their living room scolding the half asleep boys sprawled across the floor & resting on the couches.

****

“Are you fucking kidding me? You stole my alcohol?! What did I teach you about stealing?!” Ten fumed.

****

“Stealing is a sin & it will not be tolerated in the eyes of God or Ten.” Jeno mumbled, rubbing the crust out of the corner of his eyes.

****

“Thank you Jeno. This is why you’re my favorite son.” He crossed his arms & glared at the rest of them.

****

“Damn Ten-hyung. You really do talk more about God than Mark & he’s the christian here.” Donghyuck chuckled, sitting down onto the couch next to Mark. He didn’t dare to look at Mark, not even for a moment.

****

“Don’t get smart with me. I know you’re the one who stole my shit. You’re the only one with the gaul to enter my room & go rummaging through shit you know shouldn’t be.” He hissed back at the boy.

****

“Come on hyung. We just wanted to have a little fun. You were much worse than us when you were our age.” He whined.

****

“That’s exactly why I’m being so protective. I don’t want any of you to end up like I did.” He sighed, dropping his arms down to his sides. He sat himself down on the free couch.

****

“We’re fine~ We’re not that irresponsible to where you have to worry about us.” He placed a hand onto Ten’s, giving him a reassuring look that he hoped made him realize that everything was okay. He seemed to have cracked, because after he stared at him for a few moments, he sighed & threw his hands up in defeat.

****

“Fine. You win. As long as you’re safe & enjoying yourself I can’t really get mad at you guys.” Donghyuck beamed at Ten’s sudden change in character. “Don’t expect me to buy you alcohol though. I can’t speak for the others but I don’t want to contribute to the destruction of your livers.” He warned.

****

“It’s not like you didn’t destroy your organs back when you were in college. We’re just enjoying our youth while we can.” Mark had added in.

****

“I do not condone this but I understand.” Ten sighed out. “By the way, is he alive? I haven’t seen him move this entire time.” Everyone’s attention was shifted to Yukhei, who was still passed out on the smaller couch. There’s no way he was comfortable like that seeing as his limbs were much longer than the diameter of the couch.

****

Renjun shuffled over to the sleeping boy, gently poking his cheek. Even after several tries, nothing. He whispered close to his ear “ _Xuxi~”._ Not a second later, long arms extended out to grab the younger & pull him onto himself. Renjun yelped at being suddenly yanked on top of the body. He sighed & let himself be held by the larger boy, “Unfortunately.”

****

Donghyuck watched Mark push himself up off the couch & head to the kitchen. He followed right behind him, walking right up to him & grabbing his arm. “Can I talk to you?” He gulped, heart beating out of his chest. “In private.”

****

Mark stared back for a few moments, studying their other’s gaze. He nodded & allowed the younger to drag him away to their room. Donghyuck closed the door behind them & sighed, still facing the door. Mark stood, waiting for some sort of conversation.

****

“What is it Hyuck?” He moved closer to the boy who was frozen in his place. Donghyuck turned around to face Mark, looking at him dead in the eyes. “What was that about? Last night.”

****

Mark blinked in confusion. He gave the other a questioning look, unsure what he was trying to ask. Donghyuck spoke up after seeing that Mark was at loss for words, “Don’t play dumb. Answer my question.”

****

“What are you talking about?” Donghyuck stared in awe. _Does he not remember anything? Or is he pretending nothing happened?_ Donghyuck felt his heart drop in his chest. Mark saw the worry in the other’s eyes. He moved closer, causing Donghyuck to take a step back.

****

“Last night when we…” He paused, the words refusing to come off his tongue.

****

“When we?” Mark repeated.

****

“We… nevermind.” He sighed, leaving the other in an even larger state of confusion.

****

“Tell me.”

****

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Donghyuck pulled himself together enough to force out a small smile. He chuckled to himself, reaching for the door & quickly exiting the room before Mark could question even further. He slid across the room into the kitchen, grabbing ingredients out of the fridge. Renjun noticed the drop in Donghyuck’s mood & broke away from Yukhei’s grasp, slowly making his way over to him. He placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Donghyuck to flinch.

****

“What happened? Did you ask him?” Renjun asked just barely above a whisper. Donghyuck sighed, turning to face the other.

****

“He doesn’t remember.” He smiled softly, but Renjun knew he wasn’t at all happy.

****

“Oh my god.” Renjun’s grip loosened on the boy. “He doesn’t remember anything? At all?” Donghyuck shook his head & turned back to the ingredients on the counter. He tried to shrug off the conversation & focus on doing something that wouldn’t remind him how exactly confusing his & Mark’s relationship was & still is. Renjun noticed Donghyuck’s tenseness & decided it would be best if he left the topic alone.

****

Mark appear a few minutes later changed into semi-professional looking clothing. Renjun gave him a questionable look, while Donghyuck refused to look up at the elder. Mark walked straight over to Donghyuck & wrapped his arms around his waist. The younger boy froze in his place for a moment but quickly went back to cooking, not letting himself be too affected by his own feelings.

****

“Smells good.” He whispered into Donghyuck’s ear, causing him to shiver. He scoffed, turning slightly to point the knife he was holding directly at Mark. “Don’t you dare touch it. If you taint my food with your bad cooking energy, I will not hesitate to stab you.”

****

“Hey! I’m not _that_ bad at cooking!” Mark scoffed. “Sure I’m not great but I don’t have bad cooking energy, whatever that is.”

****

“You burned the last of our eggs, Mark. _Eggs._ ” Donghyuck hissed back. Mark chuckled & rested his head in the crook of Donghyuck’s neck. Donghyuck smiled to himself, turning back to the food. As much as it was hurting him to talk to Mark after last night’s “incident”, he couldn’t help but love the feeling he got every time Mark would hold him. Even though he wasn’t much shorter than him, he felt small & protected in his arms. “By the way, why do you look like you’re about to go somewhere?”

****

“Oh right,” Mark let go of Donghyuck & moved next to him. Donghyuck found himself missing the other’s touch, but he wasn’t going to admit that. “Yuta-hyung said I could come in for the interview today.”

****

“I should apply. I need a job & I wouldn’t mind getting free shit everyday.” Renjun added in. “I’ll come with you.”

****

“Sure. Be ready soon or I’ll leave you behind.” Mark shrugged. Renjun shot him a glare, “You wouldn’t dare.”

****

Mark gave him a shit-eating grin. “Keep talking & you’ll find out.” Renjun lurched forward extending his arms across Donghyuck in attempt to attack Mark, but he ran away before the smaller boy could get to him. Renjun chased after him but kept falling too short. He noticed Yukhei was finally awake, sat him on the couch. He jumped onto the couch next to him & pushed him in front of himself.

****

“ _Xuxi protect me from this asshole!”_ Renjun yelled out in Chinese. Yukhei was clearly still in a half-awake state, but the moment he heard Renjun’s cry for help he stood up & threw his fists up into the air as if he was getting ready to start a fight.

****

“ _Who trynna catch a fade?!”_ He yelled in Chinese at no one in particular. He looked around for the culprit & spotted Mark looking suspicious. “ _Him? Injunnie he doesn’t stand a chance not even against you.”_

****

Renjun scoffed & smacked his arm. “ _What’s that supposed to mean?_ ” Yukhei chuckled & patted Renjun’s head, receiving another smack from the younger.

****

“Hello? Korean please?” Jisung spoke up.

****

“He said good morning.” Chenle deadpanned.

****

Jisung squinted at him, knowing full well that’s not what he said. “That’s a lot of words for ‘good morning.’”

****

“He also said mind your fuckin’ business.” Jisung looked out at nothing, sporting a frustrated look. Renjun looked dumbfounded at the interaction, figuring it’s probably better not to say anything. He sighed, pushing past the taller male & disappearing into his room. He came out fully dressed & face freshly washed. Ten did the same, a few minutes later exiting his room & entering the kitchen to help the younger boy prepare breakfast.

****

“Make yourselves useful & clean this place up. It reeks of alcohol & teenaged hormones.” The remaining boys groaned at Ten, but nonetheless began to clean up the mess they had created the night before.

****

Roughly twenty minutes later, Ten called out to the boys who were diligently doing chores to come get their food. Donghyuck had set the table up & finished placing all the food down in the center of the table. He made sure to grab his portion before anyone else could. The boys thanked the two before grabbing their own portions & stuffing their faces.

****

“Slow down or you’re going to choke.” Ten slapped Jisung’s wrist when he noticed him shoveling food into his mouth.

****

“If only.” Renjun muttered to himself. Jisung swallowed his food & gave a sarcastic smile before turning back to his food & muttering profanities under his breath. “What did you say, fetus?”

****

“Those were fighting words, partner.” Jisung hissed back. Without looking up, Yukhei placed a hand on Renjun’s, stopping his thoughts before he could even consider manslaughter at 10 am.

****

Once they had all finished their food, they made sure to clean up their plates, knowing full well that they couldn’t afford to piss Ten off anymore than they had already done earlier this morning.

****

“Are you ready to go?” Mark called over to Renjun who had just sat down onto the couch. Renjun nodded & got up to follow him towards the door. Mark turned on his heels before he fully reached the door & shuffled over to Donghyuck who was scrubbing the pots they had used earlier. Mark snaked his arms around his waist & rested his chin on the other’s shoulder. “I’ll be back soon. Try not to burn down the place while I’m gone.” He whispered into Donghyuck’s ear. He put down the pot & turned around to face him before launching himself at Mark. Mark quickly grabbed his wrists so that the other couldn’t taint his outfit or hair with dish soap & water. Even though Mark was somewhat scrawny-looking, he was much stronger than Donghyuck. When the younger finally seemed to give up, Mark leaned forward & kissed his forehead gently.

****

He dropped Donghyuck’s wrists & headed towards the door again. “Make sure to bring me back something or you’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight!” Donghyuck yelled as Mark began to exit their apartment. Mark popped his head out the door to solute at the younger. When the door finally closed, he smiled to himself & continued his cleaning.

****

☼

****

The two boys stayed silent for the most part of their walk to the Starbucks. Neither of them had much of a chance to observe the area around their apartment. City living was quite a bit different than what they were used to. There were quite a large amount of stores, ranging from big companies to small family owned businesses. Mark thought back to when Yuta had first gotten the job at starbucks. Taeyong had snapped at him yelling about how he ‘should be supporting local businesses instead of big corporations’. Taeyong didn’t speak to Yuta for 3 weeks despite being roommates while they were in college. Mark laughed to himself, replaying all the chaos that had happened during that time. Renjun noticed the sudden change in mood & smiled at the elder.

****

“What are you thinking about?”

****

“Remember when Taeyong-hyung & Yuta-hyung had that big fight over Yuta getting the job at Starbucks?” Mark chuckled out. Renjun immediately remembering everything, gasping & clapping his hands together.

****

“Ahh that’s right! Seriously we all thought those idiots were never going to make up. Didn’t Yuta-hyung start pretending he didn’t know who Taeyong-hyung was?” Renjun bursted out laughing, unable to control himself. Mark joined along, regaining the memories of that time.

****

“When everyone got together for that party I asked Yuta-hyung when Taeyong-hyung was arriving he looked me straight in the eyes & said ‘He’s dead to me. The living can’t know what’s happening to the dead.’” Both boys had stopped in their tracks, hunched over, holding their stomachs. Their aggressively loud laughter caused many to stop & stare. Neither of them paid any mind, reminiscing on old memories. Their laughter eventually died out & they continued walking towards their destination. Renjun’s face fell as a question appeared into his mind. Mark turned to look at the younger, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, “What’s wrong?”

****

“What’s going on with you & Hyuck?” He deadpanned. The sudden seriousness caused Mark to shut down momentarily. His footsteps became slower, his body feeling heavier. He got himself together enough to muster out what he considered a decent response, “What do you mean?”

****

Renjun didn’t seem satisfied with the response, sighing in frustration. “You know what I mean. When will you finally tell him how you feel?” Mark’s heart picked up as he kept walking at a consistent pace.

****

“I…I don’t know. I don’t want to lose what we have right now. But-“

****

“But you want it to be more. I understand. But when will you stop being scared of that change? You’d be a complete dumbass to think Hyuckie doesn’t feel strongly for you.” His expression became warmer, somewhat reassuring too. Mark shot him a quick smile, trying not to let his feelings show more than they already were.

****

“Things would be easier if we weren’t so close. Maybe if we were just casual friends it wouldn’t be so hard.” Renjun couldn’t help but agree. Him & Yukhei got together so easily because they didn’t have a long history behind them. They had been friends for a year, hopelessly pining after each other the majority of their time together. Mark & Donghyuck had spent all their time together from the day Mark came to Korea. It’s not exactly easy telling your other half that you’re head over heels for them. One would think with the closeness that the two had, everything would just fall into place. Unfortunately for them, the thought of drifting apart took away any room for risking everything they had over selfish feelings.

****

“Promise me you’ll put an end to this useless tension soon.” Renjun lifted his hand up, pinky point up. Mark smiled softly at him. Renjun was right, he couldn’t put off his feelings forever. Mark extended his hand out to the other & wrapped his pinky around the smaller one. “Promise.”

****

Moments later they arrived at the store. Mark pushed the door open, holding it open for the younger. Renjun cooed & quickly pushed past him. They were greeted by a chime above the door. At the counter they spotted a taller male with light brown hair.

****

“ _Hi Sicheng-gege.”_ Renjun greeted him in Chinese. Sicheng, who was previously staring off into the distance beamed at the two younger boys. He had a soft spot for both of them, especially Renjun. As much as he liked his other friends, he felt the most comfortable when he was able to speak his native language.

****

“What are you two here for?” He smiled, punching in their orders. They had both visited so many times he had their orders memorized.

****

“Mark’s my new recruit.” Yuta wrapped an arm around Sicheng, receiving a groan from the other. Renjun didn’t miss the little smirk Sicheng tried to hide. “Though, I don’t remember offering a job to Renjun.”

****

“I figured I’d try to apply.” Renjun responded nonchalantly. Both of the males behind the counter grinned at him.

****

“Go ahead & fill out an application while I do Markiepoo’s interview. I’ll do yours after he’s done.” Yuta moved to grab an application from below the counter. He extended it out to Renjun, who happily took it. Mark cringed at the nickname, mustering out a, “Please never call me that ever again.” which Yuta promptly ignored. He signaled for Mark to follow him to an empty table in the corner of the store. They sat down across from each other, Yuta pulling out a piece of paper that appeared to be Mark’s application.

****

“So, what makes you want to work here?” He gave a cheeky smile to the younger.

****

“You offered me the job & I don’t pass up on positive opportunities.” He shrugged.

****

“Oh-hoo! Markie is all grown up.” He clasped his hands together before returning back being ‘professional’. “So, why should I hire you?”

****

“Because I need money & you need employees.” Mark deadpanned. Yuta stared at him dumbfoundedly for a moment, not expecting such a straightforward response. He chuckled briefly as he noticed Mark’s expression never shifted.

****

“You’re hired! When can you start?” He exclaimed, reaching a hand out. Mark squinted at his arm as if he didn’t know what he wanted him to do. Yuta noticed his expression & slowly pulled him arm back, placing it into his lap.

****

“Tomorrow is fine. I’m free whenever.”

****

“Sounds good to me. I’ll be looking forward to working with you.” Yuta smiled before shooing him away. “Let Injunnie know I’m ready for him.”

****

Mark walked back over to the front where Sicheng & Renjun were talking. The shorter male noticed his presence & passed Mark his cup.

****

“So?” Sicheng questioned, waiting to hear what the verdict was. Mark simply responded by giving them a thumbs up. The two boys started clapping even though they knew what the answer was going to be from the beginning. Sicheng extended his arm across the counter to lightly pinch his ear.

****

“By the way, Yuta-hyung said he’s ready for you now.” Renjun silently nodded before picking up his americano, taking a sip & saluting to the two.

****

“Why don’t I go ahead & train you a little now. Don’t tell Yuta-hyung that I already taught you how the machines work. I’d love to see the look on his face when he sees you doing stuff he didn’t teach you.” Sicheng grinned at Mark, who clapped at the sudden idea. They both knew that Yuta liked to overthink, so he’d probably have a breakdown thinking Mark was some sort of ‘espresso wizard’.

****

Renjun appeared a few minutes later, flashing them a thumbs up. Sicheng ran around the counter to give him a hug. “ _Finally I won’t be stuck with these same fucking idiots everyday!”_ He shouted. Renjun laughed along with him, leaving Mark completely lost.

****

A thought popped into Mark’s head, causing him to gasp. “Sicheng-hyung?” The older released his grip on Renjun & hummed in response. “Teach me how to make a mocha latte.”

****

☼

****

The two boys had finally made it back to their apartment, proud about their trip being a success. Renjun swung open the door, shouting towards the males seated in the living room. “Guess who’s a working man now, bitches?!” Jeno, Jaemin, & Yukhei were too focused on the tv screen to turn to face either of the two.

****

Renjun slammed a cup onto the table in front of his boyfriend & flopped down onto the couch beside him. Yukhei waited until the game had finished to acknowledge the smaller male’s presence. He looked down at the cup & then back up to Renjun & grinned at him. He dropped the controller into his lap to wrap his hands around the back of his neck, placing a soft kiss to his lips. “ _Thank you baby.”_ He whispered in in Chinese, the nickname causing Renjun to turn bright red. He placed another kiss on the other’s forehead, then his nose, over to his cheek, & down onto the corner of his lips before placing one last kiss onto his lips. Jaemin cleared his throat exaggeratedly loud. Yukhei shot him a glare while releasing his hands from Renjun. “Give me a moment while I clap some cheeks.”

****

Mark spotted his best friend on the couch watching videos. He snuck up behind him & placed the cup against his cheek. Donghyuck flinched at the sudden heat before realizing what it was & grabbed the cup, looking up at the smiling boy. He set the cup down onto the table in front of him & quickly grabbed mark’s dangling arms, pulling him down & kissing the underside of his chin. It took Mark a few moments to process what had just happened, but once the realization sank in he simply smiled & intertwined his fingers into Donghyuck’s, resting his chin on the top of his head. Donghyuck had released one of Mark’s hands to grab his drink & sip it slowly, letting out a satisfied noise at the taste. They stayed like that for a while until Mark grew tired of standing in a mildly uncomfortable position. He released his grip on Donghyuck’s hand & walked around the sofa to stand directly in front of Donghyuck before grabbing his hand & pulling him up. He dragged the other into their room & shut the door behind them.

****

He flopped down on to their bed, dragging Donghyuck down with him. The younger groaned from the impact, but quickly adjusted himself to lay on Mark’s chest. Mark ran his hand through Donghyuck’s hair, playing with his light brown locks. Mark looked down at the other, noticing the troubled look upon his face. “What’s wrong?”

****

Donghyuck paused for a second, thinking about what the say. He couldn’t find it in him to tell Mark that he had been thinking non-stop about the events of last night, & the dozens of kisses they shared. “It’s nothing important. There’s just been a lot on my mind recently.” Mark hummed in response not trying to pry any further. Donghyuck clearly seemed like he didn’t want to talk about it, & Mark respected his privacy even if it worried him from time to time. “By the way, I got a call back from Sephora. I have an interview tomorrow at 12.”

****

“That’s great! Look at us becoming working adults.”

****

“It’s about time. We can’t stay broke forever.” Donghyuck chuckled, the elder ruffling his hair in response. Donghyuck threw a leg over Mark’s, shifting closer to him. Mark rested his free arm on his thigh, gently scratching his thigh up & down. It had become a habit of his a long time ago. Donghyuck had always whined for him to scratch his legs in a way that just barely touched his skin. He found it comforting & often couldn’t sleep without the feeling. Donghyuck lifted his head to stare into Mark’s eyes, in which the other responded with a warm smile, eyes wandering all over his face. Their little moment was interrupted when Donghyuck’s phone began ringing. He fished his phone out of his pocket & swiped to answer the sudden call.

****

“Hi jaehyun-hyung. What’s up?” Donghyuck held his phone far enough away from himself, both boys in the camera. Mark waved at the man on the other side of the line.

****

“Hey there. Nothing much, I just got bored & wanted to talk to my favorite youngin & my dumbass little brother.” Jaehyun appeared to be laying in bed.

****

“How’d you know Mark was with me?” Donghyuck gave a genuinely confused look into the camera.

****

“When aren’t you two together? If he wasn’t with you I’d be worried he got himself into some sort of trouble.” Mark could feel his brother’s pride from the other side of the apartment complex. It just so happened that he lived in the same building as Jaehyun & all of his roommates. When Ten had showed them the place, he explained that it’d be easiest for him to stay close to his boyfriend & their other friends. It was more convenient & saved them time in case of an emergency like a sudden fire in their kitchen or another one of Johnny & Yukhei’s unnecessary rough-housing going a little too far. Not to mention it was just down the street from their studio.

****

“Where’s Taeyong-hyung?”

****

“He’s at the studio right now. He has a class right now.” They both hummed in response. Taeyong spent a good majority of his time at the studio. Their whole friend group had joked that he should just live there & save on rent since he spends more time practicing & giving lessons than being at home. “Have either of you looked into any jobs yet?”

****

“I got the job at the Starbucks Yuta-hyung & Sicheng-hyung work at. Hyuckie has a job interview tomorrow at Sephora.” Mark pinched the younger’s cheek, only to receive a pout from the younger & a chuckle from Jaehyun.

****

“Ahh you two are growing so fast. It’s not long before you start college.”

****

Donghyuck groaned at the thought of school. “Don’t remind me.”

****

“You’ll be fine. You should be looking forward to living the college life. I remember my college days. I’m surprised I don’t have liver damage from all the hell I put my body through.”

****

“You probably do you just don’t know it yet.” Donghyuck teased. Jaehyun scoffed at the insult from the younger boy.

****

“Is that how you treat your hyung?”

****

“Absolutely. I’ve known you for long enough to the point where it’s perfectly acceptable to harass you for your poor life decisions.”

****

“Hmm I’ll let it slide because you’re adorable.” Mark groaned the greasiness, “Don’t worry bro I’m not gonna steal your man away. I have my own tiny homo to terrorize.”

****

“I’m not that small.” Donghyuck huffed, pouting away from the camera. Mark chuckled causing the younger to glare at him. “It’s okay that you’re short. You’re cuter that way.” Mark squeezed Donghyuck tight, receiving a yelp from the other. Donghyuck went to tickle Mark in attempt to free himself from his grasp when the door slowly creaked open. Jaemin peeked his head into the door before interrupting their play-fighting.

****

“Please don’t be doing anything Jisung wouldn’t want to see.” Donghyuck threw a water bottle that was placed on the nightstand next to them directly at his head. “We’re ordering pizza tonight.”

****

“Save some for me!” Jaehyun yelled through the phone. Upon hearing the extra voice Jaemin ran over to them & jumped on top of the two, receiving groans of pain. “Hi hyung!” He waved to the camera, ignoring their screams for him to get off of them.

****

“Hey kiddo.” He laughed & waved back. “I’m going to leave you guys alone now. Try not to get into too much trouble. If the building burns down that means I’m going down with it.”

****

“Don’t worry we won’t let Mark cook.” Donghyuck grinned before receiving a smack from the elder. “Bye hyung~”. Donghyuck hit the red button & threw his phone onto the bed beside them. Jaemin took the opportunity to adjust himself to lay on the back of his head on Mark’s stomach, throwing his leg over Donghyuck. When Donghyuck tried to push him off, he only pressed himself farther onto them.

****

“Why does it take you so long to- Oh.” Jeno appeared in the doorframe, but stopped upon seeing Donghyuck struggling to get Jaemin’s larger body off of his own & Mark looking like he was on the verge of tears. He stood there for a moment too long, the room feeling uncomfortably silent. He shrugged, running straight towards the bed & leaping on top of them. He nearly kneed Jaemin in the face when he landed across Donghyuck & Jaemin’s torsos. Soon after, Renjun came rushing in when he heard screaming. It only took him half a second to process the scene in front of him being jumping straight onto the pile of limbs. Yukhei had followed behind him, slightly shook up by the amount of bodies laid on one bed. It probably could have been easily mistaken as a post-apocalyptic warzone. He bent his knees, holding a strange position for a moment. Mark began to panic as he was already feeling the weight of four boys crush his body.

****

“Absolutely fucking not. Don’t you dare…” Mark prepared himself for impact as he watched Yukhei charge towards the bed. He closed his eyes, feeling like his soul was about to leave his body until he realized there was no sudden crushing weight adding to the already heavy pile of boys. He opened his eyes & saw the boy lay down carefully next to him, throwing his leg over all of the other bodies. All six boys had eventually given up with struggling & sank into each other. They all seemed to enjoy themselves, maybe with the exception of Mark, who was somewhat struggling to breathe, but this was the way they’ve always been. Ever since they were younger they found comfort in staying overly physical with each one another, Yukhei was just a new addition. Mark turned his head to Donghyuck, who was staring straight at him. The younger still had a leg rested in-between his own. Donghyuck moved his arms to wrap loosely around Mark’s neck, never tearing his eyes from the other’s. Mark on the other hand brought his hand up to card his fingers through Donghyuck’s hair.

****

Renjun watched the interaction with a bittersweet smile. He wanted the world for his best friend, & he knew Mark could give that to him. The only thing stopping him was actually admitting his feelings. He thought back to their conversation earlier that morning as he watched their interaction. Renjun knew exactly how much it was hurting Donghyuck, even if Mark’s sweet gestures (mostly) made up for it. He simply sighed & found himself drifting to sleep.

****

Ten walked past the room only to do a double take as he reversed his steps back into the door frame. He saw the heap of boys, fast asleep. He scoffed, smiling & shaking his head at the sight. He quickly snuck out his phone & snapped a picture. He sent it in their big group chat.

****

**Eleven: Lookie what I just caught!**

****

**Eleven: -** **_photo attachment-_ **

****

**TY Track: Aww! How cute.**

****

**Tarik: How are they comfortable like that?**

****

**Caucasian Father #2: That shouldn’t even be a question**

****

**Kunt: That bed is going to break**

****

**Yung Park: glad i didnt show up today**

****

**Eleven: That makes two of us**

****

**Screech: i wanna join! ):**

****

**Yung Park: r u sure**

****

**Kunt: If I come back to Korea and you all are at each other’s throats still I’m whooping your asses to the next century**

****

**Yung Park: ew i dont wanna be old like you**

****

**TY Track: Be nice.**

****

**Big Chungus: Look at them. They’re being good kids.**

****

**Kunt: Jisung is testing my patience**

****

**Eleven: wbk**

****

**Caucasian Father #2: wbk**

****

**Prince of China: wbk**

****

**Naruto Fanboy: wbk**

****

**TY Track: What does “wbk” mean?**

****

**Dong: I can’t believe you don’t know texting lingo**

****

**Naruto Fanboy: we been knew**

****

**TY Track: So is anyone going to tell me?**

****

**Dong: You don’t deserve the right anymore**

****

**Screech: come on hyung! get with the times!**

****

**TY Track: Yeah so I’m going back to practicing. Bye.**

****

**Caucasian Father #2: Come home soon I’m lonely and need my **** *********

****

**Screech: what?**

****

**Dong: Don’t you dare uncensor that**

****

**Junguwu: What does it say?**

****

**Junguwu: O H**

****

**Naruto Fanboy** **: be careful there. god is watching.**

****

**Tarik: Right so seems like now is a good time to find new friends.**

****

☾

****

“Kiddos, food is here.” Ten popped his head into the room with a megaphone. The boys all jumped at the sudden loudness, Yukhei falling off the bed & Jaemin accidentally punching Jeno square in the face.

****

“What the FUCK Jaem?” Jeno had pushed Renjun over onto the bed so he could get up. He was holding his cheek, fuming with anger.

****

“Sorry it was a reflex.” Jaemin didn’t seem apologetic at all. Jeno took a deep breath in & let out an exaggeratedly loud sigh.

****

“Why was I built to feel nothing but pain?” He mumbled & left the room sulking to himself.

****

Renjun groaned & pushed himself up off of the bed. He grabbed Yukhei’s hands & pulled him up off of the floor. Mark’s eyes fluttered open shortly after. He looked up at the ceiling, sighing to himself. He turned to the boy sleeping partially on top of him. Donghyuck was still fast asleep despite all of the noise that should have woken him up. Mark’s eyes mapped out the features on the other’s face, engraving the look of his beauty marks across his tanned skin. Donghyuck stirred in his sleep, arms wrapping tighter around Mark’s neck. He poked Donghyuck’s cheek lightly enough to wake him up. He let out a soft breath of air that hit Mark’s neck just lightly, but caused him to shiver.

****

“Food’s here.” Mark whispered, brushing Donghyuck’s bangs out of his eyes.

****

“Don’t want.” Mark tried to get up but Donghyuck had an alternative motive. He threw the leg that was settled in between Mark’s legs to the other side of his body & flopped down on top of him. He shut his eyes once again, falling back asleep. That attempt didn’t last long because the other began to shake him by the shoulders until he opened his eyes once again.

****

“Hyuck~. Wake up. I’m hungry & there won’t be any food left if we stay here.”

****

“Pillows don’t get hungry.” Mark flicked Donghyuck’s head, causing the younger to groan in pain. He sat up, resting his palms on Mark’s stomach. He was surprised when he felt Mark’s stomach & it wasn’t as soft as he remembered. “Huh, seems like someone’s been working out.”

****

“I kind of have to be in shape for basketball. College basketball is nothing like high school & I learned that the hard way.” Mark shrugged, feeling a little self conscious with the way the younger was focused on him. They hadn’t been around each other much the past year so it’s only natural Donghyuck hadn’t noticed some differences with Mark. Sure they had seen each other plenty of times, but it was mostly during winter break when Mark came home from college. To be quite honest, he had seen Mark shirtless too many times to count (he had a habit of sleeping shirtless) but it took him touching the familiar skin to really notice the difference that being a college athlete made. He lifted himself off of the other, dragging him up with him.

****

“Does Taeyong-hyung really not know what ‘wbk’ means?” Renjun asked, eyes never leaving his phone as he scrolled through their group chat.”

****

“It’s really amazing, huh?” Ten chuckled as he took a bite of his pizza. Mark & Donghyuck snatched up slices for themselves, not even caring to grab a plate. Donghyuck hopped on the island next to the table, swinging his legs forward & back while he took a bite of his pizza. Mark opened his laptop which was already sitting on the table & began looking over a sheet with lyrics on it.

****

“So hardworking. When will you let us hear any of your new music?” Donghyuck teased. Mark used to always show him his music, in fact he often times asked the younger for a second opinion on his verses. Donghyuck shared the same love for music that the others didn’t quite have. They all loved music, in fact all of them were musicians in some way, but not all of them wanted to pursue it as a career. Donghyuck on the other hand was planning to become a music major once he started college, just as Mark was. That being said, he was a bit harsh but it did help a great deal. Mark’s recent secretness with his lyrics caused him to wonder if the older was tired of his overly-critical feedback.

****

“When it’s ready to be seen by anyone other than me, myself & I.” He shrugged, never taking his off of the screen. They all sat in silence for a bit, enjoying their not-so-healthy meal. Once his slice started to get cold, Mark finally took a bite, only to pause & close his eyes.

****

“Mark? You okay bud?” Yukhei looked over at him, concerned. He was answered with only silence & an unmoving Mark.

****

“Oh my god, I think he’s broken.” Jaemin gasped. Mark stayed like that for a few moments before opening his eyes & resuming in taking his bite. He looked straight at his computer screen before lifting his eyes at the feeling that he was being watched. All six boys had their eyes on him, waiting for him to say something.

****

“What?”

****

“Are you going to explain yourself?” Ten spoke up.

****

“I was… praying…” He said shyly.

****

“So predictable.” Renjun muttered to himself.

****

“Does he usually do this?” Yukhei looked around at all the boys that seemed unphased by the statement.

****

“Yeah. Haven’t you seen him do this before?” Jeno looked genuinely surprised.

****

“No?”

****

“My family always says grace before we eat so it’s a habit I guess.” He shrugged, focusing his attention back to his work.

****

“You don’t strike me as the religious kind.” Yukhei stated, not necessarily as a compliment or insult.

****

“You’re telling me.” Donghyuck muttered just loud enough for all of them to hear.

****

“Elaborate.” Ten squinted at him.

****

“I will not.”

****

☼

****

Donghyuck woke up the next day to the sound of his phone alarm. He groaned & pressed the lock button on his phone, turning the alarm off temporarily. He turned over onto his other side, extending his arms out expecting another body to be there. The empty spot on the bed felt warm, so he must have only recently gotten up. Donghyuck flopped onto his back, staring up the ceiling. He found himself slowly drifting off to sleep until he heard the door creak open. He didn’t bother to open his eyes, knowing exactly who it was entering the room. He expected to feel the weight of the bed shift, but when it never came he peaked to see what the was doing.

****

He noticed him rummaging through the dresser looking for clothes. He picked out a pair of black skinny jeans before moving to their shared closet, looking through the shirts. Donghyuck studied his bare shoulders, noticing how broad they had become. They used to be fairly similar in build for most of the time they had known each other (besides when Donghyuck had been a bit chubby, but he pretends that part of his life didn’t exist), but in their last years in high school Mark had grown taller than him & gained more muscle than him. To be fair, Donghyuck had always been somewhat unathletic, but Mark was so skinny it still amazed him how much muscle he was able to put on. He pulled a plain black shirt off of it’s hanger & just as he turned around Donghyuck’s alarm went off again.

****

“Hey. Good morning.” He smiled upon seeing the half awake boy. Donghyuck reach for his phone to turn off his alarm. He just hummed in response, still adjusting to the new day. “You should probably go get ready.”

****

“Don’t wanna.” He pouted at the older, flipping himself over to bury his face in his pillow. He laid there for a while, trying to wake himself up while enjoying the feeling of the warm sheets. He hadn’t noticed he was drifting off to sleep until he opened his eyes again much later. He noticed the time & jolted up out of bed.

****

“Why the hell didn’t you wake me up?! I only have half an hour until the interview!”

****

“You looked too peaceful to disturb.” Mark chuckled, not worried about the time at all. Donghyuck was both fuming with anger & extremely panicked. He needed this job, & showing up late to the interview was no way to obtain a job. “I’ve seen you get ready in under ten minutes before, you’ll be fine.”

****

“But I need my makeup to look _good!_ ” Luckily Donghyuck had already picked out his outfit last night in fear of exactly this happening. Mark was right, he could get fully ready very quickly, but he wanted to look extra good today, & looking as beautiful as possible took time. Mark placed his laptop onto the bed beside him & walked straight up to Donghyuck. He grabbed his hand & squeezed it lightly.

****

“You’ll be fine, don’t worry. It’s just an interview. They’d be fucking idiots not to hire you.” He gave a reassuring smile, hoping it would cause the other’s panicked state to die down. When he noticed the younger boy sigh & smile back at him, he reached his hand up to ruffle his hair. Donghyuck whispered a soft “Thank you.” & squeezed his hand back.

****

Donghyuck had quickly showered & got himself together in roughly 15 minutes, including doing a full face of makeup. He took a bit of a shortcut with only using bb cream & blush on his face, as well as going for a simple golden brown look on his eyes.

****

Mark was laid on the bed passing time by going over the lyrics he had been diligently working on the past few days. Donghyuck sighed, zipping shut his makeup bag. He spun on his heels & faced Mark, who looked up at him expectantly.

****

“Ready to go?” Mark spoke up.

****

“Yup, & if you’re not I’m going to leave you behind.” He slipped on his shoes & walked out the bedroom door before Mark could even get up.

****

“Hey wait up!” Donghyuck turned around & stuck his tongue out at him before quickly heading towards the front door. Mark quickly slipped on his shoes & grabbed his keys on his way out. He caught up to the younger who was starting to run away from him. Mark wrapped an arm around his neck & brought the boy into a chokehold. Donghyuck slapped his arms but Mark continued to laugh & squeeze tighter. Once he finally let go the smaller boy took the opportunity to pinch Mark’s cheek’s until he was wincing in pain.

****

“Ouch you asshole.”

****

“You choked me!”

****

“You deserved it.”

****

“Fuck you.”

****

They looked at each other for a few seconds before simultaneously bursting out into laughter. They continued walking towards their destinations until they reached the point where they had to separate.

****

“Well I guess this is goodb- wait where are you going?” Mark walked right past Donghyuck in the direction of the sephora. He turned his head to see the other boy was stopped, staring dead at him with a look of confusion on his face.

****

“Walking you to your interview? What else would I be doing?” Donghyuck flushed a light pink at the sudden statement. He couldn’t help but think about what a cheesy & sweet boyfriend Mark would be. Of course he was used to the older male being nice & going out of his way for his best friend, but things felt different especially the way Mark treated him. _Maybe Renjun was right._ He quickly shook his head at the thought & caught up to Mark.

****

“You don’t have to walk me there you know… I can get there myself.” Donghyuck protested, only to receive a disapproving look from the other.

****

“Don’t complain when I try to do something nice.” Mark shot back, sinking his hands into his pocket.

****

“I’m… I’m not complaining. I actually really like it…” His words were just barely audible, but not quite loud enough for Mark to hear.

****

“What?” Mark raised an eyebrow at him. Donghyuck never took his eyes off of the ground.

****

“Nothing.” He smiled to himself, continuing ahead. Mark brushed off the curiosity that crossed his mind.

****

They finally reached the mall & headed straight towards the Sephora. By the time they stood in the entrance of the store Donghyuck had visibly tensed up. Mark caught on immediately & pulled him into a gentle hug.

****

“Stop overthinking. You’re gonna do fine.” Donghyuck concluded Mark was a mind-reader, because he definitely was overthinking, & definitely needed a hug. He wrapped his arms around his neck, burying his head in his chest as he let out a deep sigh. He pulled away slowly & smiled at the elder.

****

“You’re right. I’m Lee Donghyuck & not even satan can stop me!” He exclaimed, suddenly becoming overly confident.

****

“You basically are satan…” Mark whispered, but Donghyuck heard his words loud & clear.

****

“Excuse me?” He was about to attempt to fight back at the insult but Mark pushed him inside the doorway.

****

“Nothing. Just go.” Donghyuck flashed him a quick smile & gave him a thumbs up. Mark responded just the same.

****

Mark waited until he saw Donghyuck headed towards the counter before making his way to his own work establishment.

****

☼

****

“You’re late Markus.” Yuta crossed his arms when he caught sight of Mark entering the store.

****

“I had... other priorities.” His casual tone caused Yuta to scoff directly at him.

****

“Oh yeah? & what may those priorities be? You know just because I’m your friend doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take this job seriously.” Yuta’s expression became strict & stern, something Mark was most definitely not used to.

****

“I was walking Hyuck to his job interview.” Mark scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, looking down at the tile floor. He looked back up to see an unreadable expression plastered across Yuta’s face. Worry started to strike him until the elder male suddenly grinned a little too much for comfort.

****

“Oh! If that’s the case then I really can’t be mad at you. Aren’t you just the sweetest boyfriend ever!” Yuta cooed, shuffling over to Mark & pinching his cheeks. He swatted his hands away & glared at him.

****

“We’re not dating, you know.” Mark muttered, pouting slightly.

****

“You’re still on that shit? Here I was thinking things would change after a few days of living together.” Yuta groaned & pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

****

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Can we just start the training?” Mark sighed, wanting the conversation to be over as soon as humanly possible. Yuta pulled him into the backroom & pulled a fresh apron off of the wall, tossing it to the other to catch. He pulled a brand new name tag out of a drawer & handed it to him. _Minhyung._

****

“Seriously?” Mark hadn’t even started working & he already felt like he was going to have a hard time. He rarely used his Korean name considering he preferred his birth name, so seeing the characters on the tag caused him to feel slightly worried.

****

“Aw c’mon~ Minhyung is such a cute name. You really oughta stop pretending it exists.” He grinned at the younger’s frustrated expression. “Come on kiddo, you’ve got a lot of shit to learn.”

****

Mark had just finished his training when he heard the chime above the door ring, the beautiful tanned boy he knew all too well walking right in, smiling widely. He slid a cup across the counter in which the other happily grabbed.

****

“How did it go?”

****

“Great! They tested me to see if I was fit to work on the styling side & I did so well they offered me the option of working with the makeup artists instead of the cash register. It even pays more!” Donghyuck beamed. Mark watched his excited expression with proudness in his eyes. He jumped over the counter & pulled him into a tight hug. He removed one of his arms from the younger’s waist & held the back of his head. He pulled away for a moment to look him straight in the eyes, “I knew you could do it.” He placed a gentle kiss to his forehead, causing the smaller boy to giggle at the softness of the touch.

****

“Alright baby gays, keep in mind we ARE in public.” Yuta appeared from the storage room holding several stacks of cups. Mark was about to open his mouth to protest but he became caught off guard when Donghyuck hugged him tighter & buried his head in the crook of his neck.

****

“Fuck your customers. I’m so happy right now.” He turned his head to glare at Yuta but quickly rested his head back onto Mark.

****

“I’m not going to fuck my customers, I’m a professional.” Yuta shot back, grinning at what he thought was a witty comeback. Donghyuck released his grip on Mark & hunched over, faking gagging.

****

Sicheng appeared behind Yuta & smacked the back of his head, causing Yuta to groan in pain. “Stop being a thot.” He deadpanned before walking away.

****

“Hyuckie I need to get back to work. You can head back home without me.”

****

“Hmmm~” Donghyuck pretended to think to himself, “Nah I’ll hang out here & bother you until you’re done.”

****

“Just don’t get in my way or you’re never getting free coffee ever again.”

****

“You monster!” Donghyuck exaggeratedly gasped. Mark chuckled to himself & went back to his station. Donghyuck had seated himself on a couch in the middle of the store. He watched Mark from afar, smiling at the serious faces he kept making. He always knew Mark to be a hardworking person through & through. He never got a chance to see him in a corporate setting, so he was enjoying the sight. About an hour of Donghyuck daydreaming to himself & Mark diligently learning the ropes of his new job, Mark’s shift had finally ended. The moment Mark had hung up his apron & appeared from the storage room Donghyuck had wrapped his arms around the other’s bicep & gently tugged him closer.

****

“Lets get home before I die of boredom.” Mark waved Sicheng & Yuta goodbye as the younger boy dragged him out of the store holding his hand.

****

Donghyuck was skipping down the street, swinging his & Mark’s intertwined hands. He stopped when he spotted a cat that was laid outside of a cafe, curled up in a patch of sunlight. He let go of Mark’s hand to run towards the cat, but before he could reach it he tripped over the sidewalk & slid on the concrete. He yelped out when his body hit the ground, causing the cat to get startled & run away. Mark rushed over to the boy the moment he saw him fall.

“Hyuck?” He noticed the boy was completely still. Worried, he started shaking him by the shoulder but received no response. A few moments later he heard a muffled phrase he couldn’t quite understand. “What?”

****

Donghyuck lifted his head to look at Mark, his face a dark shade of pink, “I said just leave me here to die from embarrassment!”

****

“C’mon you big baby, get up. Are you hurt anywhere?” The younger turned over & looked down at his legs only to see blood leaking from his now ripped jeans.

****

“My brand new fucking jeans!” He sighed, tugging at the material.

****

“Really? That’s what you’re worried about?” He shook his head in disbelief.

****

“These jeans cost more than your life.” He hissed back at Mark when he began to laugh at his crisis. Mark extended his hand to Donghyuck & pulled him up. As they started back on their path back home, Mark noticed the other limping & wincing in pain.

****

“It hurts…” When he pouted like that, the elder really couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not but based off the way he was walking, he figured it actually did hurt. He moved in front of him & squatted down slightly. “Working out in front of me? Weird flex but okay…”

****

“No dumbass, hop on.” Mark turned his head to roll his eyes at him but quickly faced forward again & opened his arms, ready to catch the other. Donghyuck flushed light pink, but nonetheless jumped onto his back & wrapped his arms around Mark’s neck. “Huh, you’re a lot lighter than I remember.”

****

“Not sure if you meant that I lost weight or you got stronger but I’m going to take that as a compliment for me.” Mark couldn’t see him but he knew he had an all-too-pleased look on his face.

****

“Yeah, yeah.”

****

They finally arrived back to their apartment safely (except for the fact that Mark nearly collapsed trying to climb the stairs, but Donghyuck had insisted it was good training during his off-season) & stopped in front of their door when they heard someone yelling in what sounded like Latin. They looked at each other for a moment before Mark hesitantly pushed open the door to see a sight he wished he could unsee.

****

Doyoung was tied to a chair in the middle of what looked like a giant pentagram in their living room, candles surrounding the circle. Chenle was stood just outside of it holding a burnt up book & chanting. Renjun, Jeno, & Jaemin were sat on the couch watching the whole thing. Doyoung turned to the two & mouthed _help me._

****

“What the fuck is going on here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't tag angst/light angst because it ends like next chapter so theres no point. next chapter is... something!  
> just as a little bit of background:  
> -yuta, johnny, jaehyun, yukhei, & doyoung live together in the same building as dreamies.  
> -they've been living there for about a year (yukhei just recently moved in with them) & mark + 00 line came to visit them often.  
> -mark lived in a dorm on campus his first year  
> -taeyong & yuta used to be roommates in college  
> -they all attend(ed) SMU (ik im so original)

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/fvllsuns


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